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TO THE MEMORY OF 

JULIAN HUGUENIN 

WHO LOVED OLD ENGLISH LIFE AND LITERATURE 

WITH A BOY'S ENTHUSIASM 

AND WITH A SCHOLAR'S KNOWLEDGE 



PREFACE 

The preparation of this first separate edition of 77/,? Riddles of the 
Exete?- Book, certainly the most difficult text in the field of Anglo-Saxon, 
has been to me a work of wevy real delight. Both in matter and manner 
these poems present so many engaging problems — which, when read 
aright, reveal at once the loftiest and lowest in older England's thought, 
and open up a hundred vistas of early word and action — that I count as 
great gain the years spent in their study. May it be my good fortune to 
impart to others a generous share of this pleasure and profit 1 

A few words of my purposes in this edition are in place here. I have 
striven to set forth the principles that govern the comparative study of 
riddles, and to trace the relation of these Anglo-Saxon enigmas to the 
Latin art-riddles of nearly the same period and to the folk-products of 
many lands and times. In the chapter upon the authorship of these 
poems and their place in the histoiy of the Cynewulf question, I have 
tried to weigh all the evidence with a higher regard for reason and the 
probabilities than for the mere weight of authority, which in the case of 
these riddles has often been fatal to free investigation and opinion. In 
the presentation of solutions in the Introduction and in the later discus- 
sion of these in the Notes, I have also sought to ' prove all things and 
hold fast that which is good.' As aids to definite conclusions, the testi- 
mony of analogues and the light thrown by Old English life and customs 
have been of far higher worth than the random guesses of modern critics. 
But to Dietrich's illuminating treatment of each of the Exeter Book Rid- 
dles and to the essays of more recent scholars I gladly admit a large 
debt. I have closely analyzed the form and structure of the poems with 
the hope of bringing them nearer to the reader's understanding. But, 
above all, I have aimed, through elaborate annotation, so to illustrate the 
' veined humanity ' of these remarkable productions, so to show forth 
their closeness to every phase of the life of their day, that this book 
might be a guide to much of the folk-lore and culture of Englishmen 
before the Conquest. 

This text of the Riddles is based upon a collation of the original manu- 
script at Exeter with the faithful reproduction in the British Museum, 



viii PREFACE 

with the texts of I'horpe, Grein, and Assmann (Grein-Wiilker), and with 
various versions of single riddles. According to the usage of this series, 
all departures from the manuscript which originate with the editor are 
printed in italics. I have conservatively avoided daring conjectures, and 
have proposed no new readings that were not dictated to me by the 
demands of the context and by the precedent of author's use and of 
contemporary idiom and meter. At first I wished to distinguish the 
many resolved vowels and diphthongs in the verse by diaereses. The 
general editors did not assent to this method of marking, believing — 
very wisely, as I now think — • that a lavish use of diacritics gives an air 
of freakishness to a text and that such resolution might better be in- 
dicated in the textual notes. 

As in the other Albion editions of Anglo-Saxon poems, the Glossary 
is intended to be a complete verbal and grammatical index to the Kid- 
dles, with the exception of a few of the commoner forms of the pronoun, 
the article, and the conjunction. The Index of Solutions, at the very 
close of the volume, records all the answers proposed at any time by 
commentators. 

It is a pleasure to express my gratitude and appreciation to all who 
have aided me in the preparation of this book : to Canon W. J. Edmonds, 
Chancellor of Exeter Cathedral, who, by his many kindnesses, made de- 
lightful my days in the chapter library ; to Ur. Otto J. Schlutter, whose 
intimate first-hand knowledge of the text of the Leiden Riddle was gen- 
erously placed at my disposal ; and to Professor George Philip Krapp, 
who freely gave to several chapters of my introduction keen and helpful 
criticism. I am particularly indebted to the general editors of the scries, 
Professors Bright and Kittredge, who have carefully read the proof and 
have offered more advice than I could acknowledge in detail. Finally, 
my thanks are due to Mr. S. T. Byington of Ginn and Company, for 

many valuable suggestions. 

FREDERICK TUPPER, Jr. 
Univf.rsity ok Vkrmont 
September, 1909 



CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION: page 

I. The Comparative Study of Riddles xi 

II. Originals and Analogues of the Exeter Book Riddles 

Symphosius xxviii 

Aldhelm xxxi 

Tatwine xxxiii 

EuSEBius xxxiv 

Latin Enigmas and the Exeter Book xxxvii 

Boniface xliv 

Bern Riddles xlvi 

Lorsch Riddles xlvii 

Pseudo-Bede xlviii 

Folk-Riddles li 

III. The Authorship of the Exeter Book Riddles 

The Riddles and Cynewulf liii 

Unity of Authorship Ixiii 

IV. Solutions of the Exeter Book Riddles Ixxix 

V. The Form and Structure of the Exeter Book Riddles Ixxxiv 

VI. The Manuscripts xcvi 

Bibliography ci 

Abbreviations cix 

TEXT I 

NOTES 69 

GLOSSARY 241 

INDEX OF SOLUTIONS 291 



INTRODUCTION 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES 

What is a riddle ? Many scliolars have sought to answer this ques- 
tion, and to define aeeurately the functions of enigmatic composition.* 

* Only during the past few years has the popular riddle received its meed of 
critical attention from scholars (A/. L.N'. XVIII, i). Until this very recent time, 
investigators were generally content with presenting without historical comment 
— and sometimes even, as in Simrock's well-known Kdisel/fiu/i, without regard to 
the home of their contributions — ;he results of more or less accurate observation. 
(For a resume of work in the German field, see Hayn, ' Die deutsche Ratsel- 
Litteratur. Versuch einer bibliographischen Uebersicht bis zur Neuzeit,' Ce^itral- 
blatt fiir Bibliothekswese7i VII, 1890, pp. 516-556). There were, it is true, a few 
noteworthy exceptions to the prevailing rule of neglect of comparative study — 
a neglect well illustrated by Friedreich, Geschichte des Rdtsels, Dresden, i860, 
which is, at its best, but a collection of widely scattered material, and makes no 
pretensions to scientific classification. As early as 1855, Miillenhoff made an inter- 
esting comparison of German, English, and Norse riddles ( Wolfs luid Mantihardls 
Zeitschrift fur deutsche Mytholoi^ic III, if.); Kohler, about the same period, 
traced carefully the originals and analogues of some forty riddles in a Weimar 
MS. of the middle of the fifteenth centuiy {JVeh?iar fa/irbiich V, 1856, 329-356) ; 
Rolland noted many parallels to the French riddles of his collection {DevineUes ou 
Enigmes populaires de la France. Avec une preface de M. Gaston Paris. Paris, 
1877); and finally Ohlert, in a monograph of admirable thoroughness {Rdtsel und 
Gesellschaftsspiele der alien Griechen. Berlin, 1886), followed the riddles of the 
Greek world through the centuries of their early and later history. An epoch in 
the history of our subject was created, however, in 1897 by two monumental 
works : Richard Wossidlo's collection of over a thousand carefully localized North 
German riddles {Meckloiburgische Volksi'iberlieferuni^cii, Part I, Wismar, 1897), in 
which the work of the accurate tabulator was supplemented by the labor of the 
painstaking philologist ; and Giuseppe Pitre's edition of Indoi'inelli, Djibbi, Scio^^U- 
lingua del Popolo Siciliano {Bibl. delle Trad. Pop. Sic. XX), Torino-Palermo, 1897, 
in which the literary sources and popular origins of riddles are closely considered. 
Petsch has turned the material of Wo.ssidlo, Rolland, and others to good account 
in his study of the forms and the style of the popular riddle {A^eue Beitrdge zur 
Kenntnis des Volksrdtsels. Palaestra IV, Berlin, 1899). Heusler in his illuminating 

xi 



xii 1 N 1 KODIH' IION 

I'l ic'dnu li (ills us ' (li.il llu' liildk' is • a Kniiul.ilxxil ilrsii iplion ol an un- 
iiami'tl »il>ii'it, so wiinlnl as lo amiisr llu' icllt'i'lion nl mmcKm oi' Iumiim" 
to llu' (lisioxiTv <>r this.' I'itii-'s lU'liiiilioM in his t-lahoralr Inlroiluctioii (' 
is at oiur inoic siholarU ami m<iir iiulusivc: ' I'lii' liddU' is an arninj;o- 
nu-nt ol wolds 1)\ wliirli is undnslnod or sii};L;(.'sli'd sonu'thini; thai is not 
oxnri'sst'il ; or I'lsr i( is an inm'nioiis and \\itl\ drsi riplion ol this uiu\ 
pii'sscil (liin;; 1)\ nuMiis ol ijualilics and j;riu'ral trails that can br atli ihutrd 
ijuitc as wrll toollu'i thin;;s haxiiiL; no liki'iu'ss or analo^A' lo lIu" suhji-ct. 
This (k'sniplion is ai\va\s \a_i',ur, so vamii" indi-rd that In- \vhosi> task it 
is to soUc tlu- liddk' suns in iiis mind to one or tlu' otliiT si^niliiMtion 
in \ain atlrnii)! to u\uli tlu- solution. (Hti-n thr inti'ipirtation is hiddiMi 
uiuk'i the vi'il ol a \iT\ n-moti' alk-^orv' or uiuk-r i;iaii'lul and hai)i)V 
iina_L',i's.' i Tlu' mrntal attitudes ol lidillrr .uul in'iiddk-d are ehanningly 
pietuied 1>\ Cioeliie in an oil eitt'il passa_L;e ol .l/i.v/s iiiuf Pora : 

So k'i;l (kr DichtiT I'in Kiitiiscl, 
Kunsilu ii nut \\ Oili'n \ iMsehiankt. ott dei \'ersaminUin^ ins Oiir. 
jedi'M tieiK'l die sellne. dii /itMllihen liikler \'ei kiui|)luM{^, 
Aher noeii iiiikt das Wort, das dii- lu'di'iiluui; xerwalut. 
Isl es endiuli eulileikl. dann iu-ileil sieh |i'ik's (leimilh aul, 
I'lul eiliiiekt im ( it-dieht doppell i-i lix'uiiehen Sinn. 

Aiislotk- was the lust lo point out tlu- elost- relation bt'lwern riddles 
and nuiaphors : § 'While metaphor is a \x-rv tiecpuMit instrument of 

.uticlf upiMi tilt" //(-i&riks (liifitf o( tl\o //i-r7;ir,ir Xi^ii (/ri/.u/in// lir.f r<-fYins 
fiir I 't'/isi-u >/,/<■ XI, ii>oi, iiyf.) lias ajiplieil the conipaiative nietluul to these 
tiiirly-tivo Okl Noisi- liiklk's. Aiul I h.ivo tiit-d to adiluee and apply certain rules 
for liildle study in livi' artiilos : •flu- I'oinpaiative Study of Riddles,' .)/./.. A'. 
XVIII, 11)03, 1 S; '(higiiials and Analogues of the /'xc/tr /uwA- KiiiiiUs,' lb. 07- 
io(); 'The Holme Uiddks (MS. Hail, igdo).' /'. .If. /. ./. XVIII, 1003. 2\\-2-j:\ 
' Riddles of the lU'ik- ri.uliliou.' .1/,',/. /'/;//. 11, 11)05. 501 57-'; ' Solutions of tlu- 
l-.\i-tf Iuu>k RiiiJli-s' M. I . \. \XI. it)0(>, 1)7-105. As all tlu-se t-ss.ivs of ininc 
Wfif nu'ifly pii'p.u.itoi V lo the ptosi-iil edition, 1 k.ue diawn froflv upon liu-in 
in this Inirodui-tion. * P. :!. t l". xviii. 

t Not vciy different is the dolinilion of Wolf, rofti.uhfr //oussc/uttz lirs Jt-iit.u /k-ii 
I'Mcs, (1. Autk. Loip/ig, iS.(.(, ]■>. 1 1 ;S : • l>.is Riithsel ist ein Spiel des \'etstandes, 
der sieh beniiiht einon Clencnst.md so dar/uslelk-n dass er alle Meikmale und 
Kigenschaften dessolben schildert, so wioderspreehend dieselben an und fiir sieh 
betrachtet aueh sein mogen, ohne iiHk>ch den Gegonstand solbst zu nennen.' 
(iioos dclines the riddlo in .\linost ilio same words, y>/> A//V/(' <iVr .)/<'//.f< //<■// 
(lS()o), p. lo.(. 

§ A'//c/iv/,- iii, M (Welldon's translation, London, iSSo, p. joiV 



nil': (OMrAKAiivi'; studv oi kiddi.ios xiii 

clever sayings, aiiollici or an addilinnal iii'.lriiinciil is die cpiion, as ])co|)k' 
aic luoic cicaily (oiiscioiis ol liavinj^ Icaiiil soinclliinj' lioiii llic-ir sense 
()l surprise at llie way in wliirli ihc s(nlcn( c ends and lluii soul seems 
to say, " <,)uile true and I had Mir.scd du- poinl." 'I'liis, lno, is die resnil 
of pleasure allordcd hy (lever liddles ; Hiey are inslMKlive an<l niela 
])liorical in dieir expression.' Il is A rislode's opinion dial iiol only are 
metapliois die )M-riiis ol riddles, hiil dial eni}Miiali( eleiiieiils appear in 
;ill nielapliois, siiKc lliese are derived Ironi 'objeels wliicli are closely 
relaled lo (lie lliiiif; ilsell hill vvlii( h are iiol iniiiiedialely ohvious.' 
( laston Paris de(iiies die liddle as 'a inela|)lior or a juoiip ol nii'lii" 
phors, die i-niploynienl ol wlii(li lias ii(;l |)assed iiilo < oimnoii use, 
and the i'X|)lanalioii ol vvlii( h is nol sell-evidenl.' '' Indeed, niany rid- 
dles go back to a linn- when external objects impressed die human 
mind very differendy from their ]jresenl elfecl and conse(|uenlly sug- 
f^ested metaphors which at lirst seem to ns almost incompn;lu;iisible, 
but which (harm us when we have the cine to tlic-ii meaniii}^. ' The 
making <»f riddles,' says I'ylor, |' ' re(|uiies a lair |jower ol ideal compari- 
s(jn, and knowledj^e must have made coiisicJerable advance before the 
process (ould become so lamiliar as to lall Ironi eainesl into spoil.' 
I.indley notes J that ' Kirldles jjlay ujion analo^^ies amon^ things per- 
ceived. lOs.sentially the primitive mode of invention is as lollows : Scnne 
one discovers a new analogy among natural objects, loimiilales a (|ues- 
tion, concerning this, and thus a new riddle is b(jrn. . . .§ And, having 
its dee|)est roots in the f)erce|jlion of the analogies ol natiiie, the riddle 
is brother to the iiiela|)lior, whic h has been .so inipoilanl in die flevelop 
mcnt of languages and myths.' (iuumiere points cnit in Ins ]u\i^innui^s 
of JWliy II that ' metaphors of iIk; substantive may well liav(; been 
the origin of the riddle, since early kemiings cdien read like liddles: 
in I'imiish, the sunshine is called "the- coiiteuts ol VVainamc^inim's 

* Iiilnxliic tioM lo Kollaiid, DrriimtUs, \>. viii. 

I /'riniiliTe (.'ullurt:, c(lidi)ii of \')0t,, I, ()'> ')i. 

\ American Juunial of J'xycltoloi;)), VIII (i'H(j6 1K97), 48,^. 

§ Lindley remarks with acutencss : ' Wliilc: die most primitive; forms liavi: 1 liii;f 
reference to natural olijects, the evolution (jf the riddle refieclH the shifting of 
man's chief interest from external nature to man himself. Some of the most 
famous riddlr-s amoii}^ the Circeks have- this human foi us.' So with 0111 Aii^do- 
Saxon riddles. 

II New York, 1901, pp. 451-452. <'.{. Scherer, Gescli. iter ileiitsrh. J. it. ))]>. 7, 15, 
and M. M. Meyer, Altt^crmnuische Puesie^ p. 160 (cited Ijy (.iummere) ; and note 
illustrations in (irfjos. Die Spicle iler Menscheu, ]>. 11^5. 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

milk-bowl." ' Hardly a riddle is without its elements of metaphor.* A few 
examples will serve as well as a hundred. In one of the most famous 
of the riddles of Symphosius (No. ii)t Flood and Fish appear as noisy 
house and quiet guest. In the popular Old German riddle, • Es flog ein 
Vogel federlos, u. s. w.,'| the featherless bird is the Snow, and the mouth- 
less woman the Wind. And in the riddles of the Exeter Book the Pen is 
called ' the joy of birds,' § the Wind ' heaven's tooth ' {Rid. 87^), and 
the stones of the Ballista the treasure of its womb (18"). Rid. 92 is 
but a series of kennings. Sometimes the use of riddle-kennings is very 
close to that of the Runic Poem.\ 

In its origins the riddle is closely connected not only with the meta- 
phor but with mythological personification. From one to the other is but 
a step. ' So thoroughly does riddle-making belong to the mythologic stage 
of thought,' says Tylor,^ ' that any poet's simile, if not too far-fetched, 
needs only inversion to be made at once into an enigma.' As the meta- 
phor plays an immense role in the formation of mythologies, so the riddle 
is early associated with imaginative conceptions of nature and the divine 
spirit. Uhland is right in saying** that myths and riddles approach most 
closely to one another in the conception of the elemental forces of the 
greater and more powerful natural phenomena : ' Wenn nun das Rathsel 
dieselben oder ahnliche Gegenstande personlich gestaltet und in Handlung 
setzt, so erscheint es selbst nach ausgesprochenem Rathwort auf gleicher 
Stufe der Bildlichkeit mit der Mythen besagter Art.' The riddle, like the 
myth, arises out of the desire to invest everyday things and thoughts 
with the garb of the unusual and marvelous. So in the riddle-questions 

* The words of Wackernagel, Ilaupts Zs. Ill, 25, have been often cited : ' Ver- 
sinnlichung des geistigen, vergeistigung des sinnlichen, personificierung des un- 
personlichen, verschonende erhebung dessen was alltagHch vor uns liegt, alles das 
gehort zum we.sen des rathsels, wie es zum wesen und zu den mitteln der poesie 
gehort ; und so mtichte kaum ein volk sein das poesie besasse und keine freude 
an rathsehi.' 

t For the history of this world-riddle, see my article M.L.X. XVIII, 3, 5; 
and notes to lihi. 85. 

\ This appears in Latin form as early as the tenth century (Reichenau MS. 205, 
Miillenhoff and Scherer, DeiikmdUr^, 1892, p. 20). For its various versions see 
Wossidlo, No. 99. 

§ Rid. T.'f, fugles wyn ; cf. 52*, 93'-". 

II See notes to Rid. 56^, 73. 

'i Primitive Culture, ^6S\\on of 1903, I, 93. 

** Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung tind Sage, Stuttgart, 1S66, III, 185. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xv 

of the Vcdas * the things treated are not named with their usual uni- 
versally understood names but are indicated through symbolic expres- 
sions or simply through mystic relations. The subjects are drawn largely 
from the world of nature — heaven and earth, sun and moon, the king- 
dom of air, the clouds, the rain, the course of the sun, years, seasons, 
months, days and nights. For instance. Night and Aurora appear in a 
hymnus (I, 123) as two sisters, who wander over the same path, guided 
by the gods ; they never meet and are never still. In one of the Time 
riddles (1, 164), the year is pictured as a chariot bearing seven men (the 
Indian seasons [?]) and drawn by seven horses; in another (I, 11), as a 
twelve-spoked wheel, upon which stand 720 sons of one birth (the days 
and nights). This is certainly the earliest version of the Year problem, 
which in one form or other appears in every land,t and is one of the 
most striking of the motives in the Exeter Book collection (^Rid. 23). 
Uhland early pointed out % the wealth of the Old Norse problems of 
nature in mythological reference and suggestion. § The waves (^HetSreks 
Gdtiir, No. 23) are white-locked maidens working evil, and in the solu- 
tion are called ' Gymir's daughters ' and ' Ran Eldir's brides ' ; in another 
riddle the mist, the dark one, climbs out of Gymir's bed, while in the 
final problem (No. 35) the one-eyed Odin rides upon his horse, Sleipnir. 
As 1 have twice shown, || upon the idea of hostility between Sun and 
Moon the poet of Rid. 30 and 95 builds an exquisite myth, worthy 
of the Vedas, indeed not unlike the Sanskrit poems on the powers of 
nature, and bearing a strong likeness to the famous Ossianic address 
to the Sun. Of the riddle of the Month (^Rid. 23) I have spoken. Many 
traits of the early attitude to nature are found in the Storm riddles (^Rid. 
2-4); there is a touch of mythological personification in the world-old 
motif of Ice {^Rid. 34) ; 1[ and, if my interpretation be correct, the riddle 
of the Sirens (^Rid. 74) is based upon a knowledge of ancient fable.** 
Thus the Anglo-Saxon riddles, like the Russian enigmas printed by 

* Ilaug, ' Vedische Ratselfragen und Ratselspriiche,' Sitzitngsberichte dcr koitigl. 
Akad. der IViss. zu Miinclien, Phil.-Hist. Classe, 1875, II, 459. 

t Cf. Ohlert, pp. 122-126; Wiinsche, Kochs Zs., N. F., IX (1S96), 425-456; 
Wossidlo, pp. 277-27S; and my article M.L.N. XVIII, 102. 
. X Schriften III, 185. 

§ Cf. Andreas Heusler's discussion of the riddles of the He7-7'arar Saga {Hei&- 
reks Gdtiir), Zs. d. V. f. Vk. XI, 1901, 117 f.; and the co.smic riddles of the 
Vafhni&uismdl 2iV^A Alvissmdl. || M.L.N. XVIII, 1*04; XXI, 102, 104. 

*i .^LL.N. XVIII, 4. **Ib. XVIII, 100; XXI, 103-104. 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

Ralston,* are sometimes condensed myths, and ' mythical formulas.' 
It is certainly not without significance that the word ' enigma ' is de- 
rived from the Greek utvos, which is early associated with the idea of 
' fable.' t Of the Rdtselmdrchen I shall speak later. 

Early in the discussion of riddle-poetry a distinction must be drawn be- 
tween the Kunstrdtsel and the Volksrdtsel, between literary and popular 
problems. This distinction is not always easy to recognize, on account 
of the close connection between the two types. As I have sought to 
show elsewhere, | the literary riddle may consist largely or entirely of 
popular elements, may be (and often is) an elaborated version of an 
original current in the mouth of the folk ; conversely, the popular riddle 
is often found in germ or in full development in some product of the 
study, and our task is to trace its transmission from scholar to peasant. 
Through a more complicated sequence, a genuine folk-riddle may be 
adapted in an artistic version, which, in a later day or in another land, 
becomes again common property ; or, by a natural corollary, a literary 
riddle, having passed into the stock of country-side tradition, may fail of 
its popular life and survive only in some pedantic reworking that knows 
nothing of the early art-form. § Even after the thorough examination of 
the style and the careful investigation of the history of each riddle so 
urgently recommended by Petsch || and hitherto so much neglected, we 
cannot be sure that this apparently popular product is not an adaptation 
of some classical original, or that this enigma smelling so strongly of the 
lamp is not a reshaping of some puzzle of peasants. In his excellent 
discussion of the popular riddle, Petsch claims for the folk all the material 
that it takes to itself, remodels in its own fashion, and stamps with its 
own style and meter. After contrasting Schiller's well-known enigma of 
the Ship with popular treatments of the same theme, and marking in folk- 
products the choice of a single subject and of a few striking traits, he 
notes that the typical Volksrdtsel is confined to a scanty framework, a 
hurried statement of the germ-element, naive description, a sudden check 
in our progress to the goal of the solution, and finally a word of summary. 
In literary enigmas — to which class by far the greater number of the 
Exeter Book Riddles belong IF — all these divisions may and do appear, 

* Songs of the Russian People, London, 1872, chap. VI (cited by Pitre, p. xxxviii). 

t Ohlert, p. 4. t M. L. N. XVIII, 2. 

§ Cf. Pitre 's admirable Introduction, p. cxcvi. 

II N^eue Be it rage zur Kenntnis des Vol/csrdisels, p. 45- 

ir^/.Z. A". XVIII, 97. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xvii 

but each of them is patiently elaborated with a conscious delight in work- 
manshi]) and rhythm, with a regard for detail that overlooks no aspect 
of the theme however trivial — in a word, with a poetic subordination of 
the end in view to the; finish of the several parts. 

1 may illustrate the derivation of literary enigmas from popular puzzles 
by examples cited in the first of my articles.* Symphosius, in one sense 
the father of the riddles of our era, uses in many enigmas — for example, 
those of Smoke, Vine, Ball, Saw, and Sleep (17,53, 59, 60, 96) — the que- 
ries of the Palatine Anthology current in the mouths of men for centu- 
ries before his day.t The enigmatograph Lorichius Hadamarius, whose 
Latin riddles are among the best in the early seventeenth-century collec- 
tion of Reusner,t borrows all his material from the widely-known Sfnrss- 
biirg Book of Kiddles. % Indeed, though scholars have hitherto overlooked 
this obvious connection, his enigmas are merely classical versions of the 
(lerman originals. The famous folk-riddles of the Oak (^Str. 12), Dew 
{Str. 51), Bellows {Str. 202), Egg {Str. 139), Hazelnut {Str. 172), Lot's 
Wife lyStr. 273), Cain {Str. 284), and dozens of others are twisted into 
hexameters. Nor was this old pedant alone in his methods of borrowing. 
His contemporary, Joachim Camerarius of Papenberg, presents, by the 
side of the German form, the widely extended Sun and Snow riddle in 
Latin and Greek dress, || and Hadrian Junius H fossilizes in like fashion the 
genuinely popular riddle of the Cherry. Therander, w'hose Aoiigmato- 
graphia of 420 numbers purports to be a Germanizing of ' the most 
famous and excellent Latin writers ancient and modern,' ** is usually in- 
debted — either indirectly or, despite his assertion of sources, directly — 
to current versions in the vernacular. His themes of Script (227), Pen 

* M. L. A'. XVIII, 2-3. t Ohlert, pp. 138 f. 

X Nicholas Reusner, Aenigmatog7-aphia sive Sylloge Aenigmatiim et Griphortcm 
Convivalinm. Two volumes in one. Frankfort, 1602. 

% Strasshurger Rdtselbuch. Die erste zu Strassburg urns Jahr 1505 gedruckte 
deutsche Ratselsammlung, neu hersg. von A. F. Butsch, Strassburg, 1876. As 
Hoffmann von Fallersleben has shown, Weimar Jhrb. II (1855), 231 f., this little 
book of 336 numbers is the chief source of later popular collections of German 
riddles. || Reusner I, 254, 25S. IT Reusner I, 243. 

** Huldrich Therander, Aenigmatographia Ryfliviica, Magdeburg, 1605. Theran- 
der, or Johann Sommer, for such was his true name, tells us in his preface that 
he ' had read the Sphinx Philosophica of Joh. Heidfeld, the Aenigmatographia of 
Nic. Reusner, and the Lib^-i Tres Aenigmatiun of Joh. Pincier, and in order not to 
sit idle at home when others were working in the fields, had turned these into 
German rimes.' 



xviii INTRODUCTION 

(236), Weathercock (304, 306), Haw (307), Poppy (320"), Oak (325), 
Stork (354}, Ten Birds (356), Two-legs (401 ), Egg (405), and Year (41 1) 
— to cite a few out of many — were favorite possessions of the folk- 
riddle at the beginning of the seventeenth century ; and we can hardly 
doubt that Sommcr had heard these puzzles on the lips of peasants or 
met them in the riddle-books then popular.* But whether the connection 
between his little poem-problems and the more naive versions of the folk 
be mediate or immediate, his book brings everywhere strong proof of 
the close interdependence of art-riddles and those of the people. 

The distinction between the riddle of the study and the riddle of the 
cottage represents only one of many overlapping divisions that present 
themselves in any extensive consideration of the various kinds of riddles. 
In his introduction to Rolland's collection,! Gaston Paris marks the dif- 
ference between ' e'nigmes de mots ' and ' enigmes de choses ' ; W'os- 
sidlo divides the riddles of his famous collection into the three groups of 
riddles proper, i.e. complete problems or riddles of things (Sacheiinitsel), 
jest-riddles or riddle-questions (^Rafscifrage/i), and finall\', riddle-stories or 
riddle-fables {Ratsehnairhcji) ; and Petsch distinguishes % between unreal 
(' unwirkliche ') and real (' wirkliche ') riddles. In the former class he 
rightly includes all those questions which are addressed rather to knowl- 
edge and learning than to reason and understanding, Wcishcitsprobai , 
Hahlostingsratsel, and Schcrzfragen. The manifold divisions of Fried- 
reich into riddle-questions, word-riddles, syllable-riddles, letter-riddles, 
number-riddles, etc., are based upon no scientific principle, and, for the 
present, may be disregarded. 

Tests of knowledge, in enigmatic phrasings, have played a very im- 
portant part in the evolution of the riddle. The Queen of Sheba came to 
the court of Solomon to prove the wisdom of the great king by queries. 
Legend attributes to her several that take their place among world- 
riddles. § Of these questions of Queen Bilqis, preserved in the Midrash 
Mishle and the Second Targum to the Book of Esther, the best-known 
is the enigma of Lot's Daughters, which is found in our collection (7?/V/. 
47). Another riddle-strife attributed to Solomon is that with Hiram of 

* It is, however, going too far to declare with IMiillenhoff, Wolf's Zs.f. <i. M. Ill, 
130, that Therander's riddles are simply expansions of those in the Reterbuchlein, 
Frankfort, 1562. See Hoffmann, yl/(Wtf/.r(/«-/// rvw 11. fiir Schlesien I (1829), 160; 
Moties Anzeiger II, 310. t P. viii. | P. 5. 

§ Hertz, Haupts Zs. XXVII, 1-33 ; Wiinsche, Ratselweisheit bci Jen I/ebrdern, 
p. 15; Ohlert, pp. 5-6; Friedreich, p. 98; Folk-Lore I, p. 354. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xix 

Tyre, described b}' Flavins Josephus.* These are the first of a long' 
series of such word-contests which assume two main forms of great 
importance in riddle-literature : the Riitsehvettkampf^ or matching of 
wits for some heavy stake, and the ' Colloquy ' or 'Dialogue.' These 
two classes of questions are not always distinct ; but the former be- 
longs rather to the region of story or fable, the second to the field of 
didactic or wisdom literature. In an excellent discussion of the first 
class, Professor Child t subdivides the Wettkampf into the struggle for 
a huge wager, usually life itself, and the contest for the hand of a loved 
lady or knight. Many examples of each may be mentioned. The game 
of riddle-forfeits is as old as the enigma of the Sphinx % or as the story 
of Samson (Judges xiv, 12), § and appears in Germanic literatures in 
the Hen'arar Saga || and in the Jaffin'/d/iistiidl*^ ; in the ballad of ' King 
John and the Abbot ' ** and its continental analogues ft ; in the famous 
]Vaiibiirgkneg,XX in which Klingsor and Wolfram contend; and in the 
' Tragemundslied,' §§ in which a host tests a wandering stranger, to 
whom seventy-two lands are known. Not the least important of such 
riddle-contests are the modern Halslosiiugrdtsel, those gruesome prob- 
lems by means of which a condemned criminal is supposed to save 
himself from the extreme penalty. || || 

* Antiquities viii, 5 ; Contra Apicnein I, 17, 18. See Wiinsche, p. 24 ; Ohlert, p. 6. 

t English and Scottish Popular Ballads I, I (' Riddles Wisely Expounded '). 

X Gyraldus (Reugner I, 10), Friedreich, p. 84 ; Ohlert, pp. 31-35 ; Laistner, Das 
Rdtsel der Sphinx, Grtindziige einer Alythengeschichte, Berlin, 1889. 

§ Friedreich, pp. 151-155 ; Wiinsche, pp. 11-13; P.M. L.A. XVIII (1903), 262. 

II Bugge, A'orrane Skri/ter, pp. 203 f.; Vigfusson and Powell, Corpus Poet. 
Boreale I, 86 f. These riddles of King Hei'Srek are genuine problems rather than 
tests of wisdom and knowledge of cosmogony like the VafJ>rtt&nismdl and the 
Alvlssmdl (Petsch, p. 1 5). 

^ Eddalieder, Jonsson, Halle {18S8), I, 26-31 ; Friedreich, pp. 112-123. 

** Child I, 403. 

tt Strieker's 'Tale of Amis and the Bishop,' Lambel's second edition, Erzdh- 
Inngen etc., 1883, p. 11; and ' Ein Spil von einem Kaiser und eim Apt' {East- 
nachtspiele aits defn i£. Jahrhnndert I, 199, No. 22). Cf. Child, 1. c. 

\\ Plotz, Der Sdngerkrieg auf der lVartl>u7-g,V\evm2ir, 1851. The Introduction 
contains a bibliography of riddle-collections and Streitgedichte. 

§§ Alideutsche Wdlder, 1815,11,27; Miillenhoff &Scherer, Z>^«,^wa7^r3I, No. 48; 
Friedreich, pp. 135-138. Uhland, Schriften HI, 1S9, points out that this is a genuine 
folk-product in its wealth of ' Eigenschaftworter besonders der Farbe.' 

nil See the collections of Wossidlo, pp. 191-222, and Frischbier, Ani Urqnell IV, 
9!.; and the careful discussion by Petsch, pp. 15-22. The most famous of such 



XX INTRODUCTION 

The second form of IVettkampf, the contest in which the stance is the 
hand of the beloved, finds equally abundant illustration. We meet it in 
the Persian story of Prince Calaf,* the ultimate source of Schiller's 
Turandot ; in the Alvissnid/,^ where the dwarf Alvis wins by his wis- 
dom the god Thor's daughter ; in the English ballads of ' Captain 
Wedderburn's Courtship ' and ' Proud Lady Margaret ' ; | in the story 
of Apollonius of Txrci; which is later incorporated into the Ct'sfa 
Rirnuxnonim || ; and in those most charming of word-struggles, the 
IVeidspniche and Krauzlieder of older German folk-song. 1[ 

The contest, as it takes form in Colloquy or Dialogue, is closely con- 
nected with wisdom-literature. Tylor asserts ** that ' riddles start near 
proverbs in the history of civilization, and they travel on long together, 
though at last towards different ends'; and Wiinschett points out that 
many of the number-proverbs of Solomon (xxx, iS-33, etc.) are nothing 
more than riddles. So the Dialogue, which holds so important a place in 
the literature of the Middle Ages, is at once enigmatic in its phrasing and 
didactic in its purpose. Porn of Creek philosophy, it was early adopted 
by the Christian church as a means of instruction, It and leads a dull 
but healthy life in various groups of queries. Among the chief of these 
are the Salomon aiui Saturn, %% the Florcs of the Pseudo-Bede, || || the 

Halslosmigriitscl is certainly the ' Ilo riddle,' known in England, Clermany, and 
many countries of Southern Europe (I'itre, pp. lx.\.\-l.\.\.\vii). 

* Haft Paikar of Nizami, cited by Friedreich, p. 52. 

t Eddalieder, Jonsson, 1888, I, 64 f. | Child I, 414, 423. 

§ Weismann, Alexander vom Pfaffen Lamprecht, 1S50, I, 473; Hagen, Rovtaii 
von A'oiiig Apoll. von Tyrits, 1S7S, pp. 11 f. 

II Chapter 153 (Oesterley, p. 3S3). f Uhland III, 200. 

** rrimitive Culture, 1903, I, 90. tt Rdtsekvcisheit etc., pp. 24-30. 

\\ For an interesting summary of the material upon this subject, see Forster, 
O. E. I\[iscellany (Dedicated to Furnivall, 1901), pp. 86 f. 

§§ For the English versions of this colloquy, both in verse and prose, see 
Kemble, Salo7)toii and Saturn, 1S48. Derived forms are the Adrianus and Ritliens 
(Kemble, pp. I98f.) and the Middle English 'Questions between the Maister of 
O.xenford and his Clerke' (/:'//<;■/. Stud. VIII, 2S4 f.). The history of the widely- 
spread Salomon and Marcolf saga, so fruitful in the production of dialogues, has 
been traced by Vogt, Die deutschen Dichtungen I'on Salomon und Markolf, Halle, 
18S0, vol. I, and by Vincenti, Drei altenglische Dialoge 7-oii Salomon und Saturn, 
Naumburg, 1901 ; but a consideration of this lies without my present purpose. 
Such productions often cross the border of the riddle (compare the enigmatic 
queries of * Book ' and ' Age,' and the use of the riddle-form, in the O.E. poetical 
Salomon and Saturn, 229-236, 281 f.). 

III! This I have discussed, I\Tod. Phil. II, 561-565. See infra. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xxi 

Altercafio Jlailriaiii ct Epicteti* the Dispntatio Fippiui ciivi AUuno* and 
the Sc/tlcttstadf Dialogue.^ These questions can hardly be regarded as 
riddles at all ; for. as I have already noted, they are rather tests of knowl- 
edge than of the understanding, and at all points display their clerkly 
origin. % They consist of ' odd ends from Holy Writ,' eked out by monk- 
ish additions to scriptural lore, scraps of proverbial philosophy, bits of 
pseudo-science, fragments of fable and allegory, gleanings from the folk- 
lore of the time. Two derived forms of the Dialogue have each an exten- 
si\-e range. The prose Colloquy is represented by the Lucidary, which, 
in its typical form, the Elucidarinni of Honorius, was known among 
every people of Europe; § the poetic Dialogue, on the other hand, be- 
comes the StreitgedicJit or Conflict-poem, which, beginning with Alcuin's 
Ccmflictiis Vcris et Hic)uis,\ and chronicling the contests of Water and 
Wine and of Sheep and Wool, reaches its highest development at the 
skilled hands of Walter Map. IT Ultimately the Colloquy loses its serious 
purpose and is degraded into series of questions of coarse jest ** which 
range from the mocking humor of the PJciffe Amis (cited supra) to the 
unsavory queries of the Demanndes Joyous.^^ 

Closely associated with the ]Vcttk(jmpJ\ or struggle for a wager, is the 
Kdtselmdnheiu or riddle-story : indeed, the Apollonius enigma of incest 
and the ghastly Ilo-riddle of the dead love may be accepted as typical 
specimens of both groups. In each case the stake can only be won by 
knowledge of hidden relations that demand a narrative for their unfold- 
ing. Such connection between the enigma and the fable is found not 
only in the embodiment of early myths in old cosmic riddles, already 
considered under another head, but in almost every legend that finds its 
motif in the seemingly impossible. Uhland is therefore right in regard- 
ing II the story of Birnam Wood in Macbeth as an excellent example of 
the Rdtsiintdirhcn ; and the so-called ' First Riddle " of the Exeter Book, 

* Wilmanns, Haiipts Zs. XIV, 530. 

t Wolfflin-Troll, Jl/onatsbej-ichte der kbiiigl. prettss. Akaitciiiie der JVisseiisc/ta/teii 
zit Berlin, 1872, p. 116. 

t Cf. the tiny Pharaoh query-poem of the Exeter Boot:, Gn.-W. Biht. Ill, 82. 

§ Compare Schorbach, Stndie?i ilber das deutsctie J'otks/ntcti Liicidarius, Qiiellen 
uud Forsctntngen, 1894, vol. LXXIV. 

II ]\[onumeiita Gennaiiiae Ilistorica, Poetae Latini I, 270. 

^ Jantzen, Gescliiclite des deutsctien Streitgedictites im Mittetatter {jreintiotds 
Germanistisctte Abltandlungeii), Breslau, 1896, pp. 5 f . 

** Compare Petsch's discussion of Sctierzfragen, pp. 22 f. 

tt Compare Kemble, Salomon and Saturn, p. 285. \\ Sclirifien III, 221. 



xxii INTRODUCTION 

in its enigmatic suggestions of some story quite unknown to us, but 
latent in tlie memory of early Englishmen, may possibly be assigned to 
this genus. Of such riddle-stories Friedreich, Petsch, and Pitre offer 
many specimens ; but these authorities hardly refer to that species of the 
class which had the greatest vogue in the Middle Ages, the L'ugenmdrchen* 
Of this special riddle-product, which has been traced by Uhlandf to the 
tenth century, an apt illustration may be found in the analogue to the 
Anglo-Saxon enigma of the Month iyKid. 23) which appears among 
the Lil gen march en of ^'ienna MS. 2705, f. 145.$ 

I have already noted Gaston Paris's distinction between ' e'nigmes de 
mots ' and ' e'nigmes de choses.' By word-riddles ( Wo)iratsel) are under- 
stood that large class of problems which are concerned with the form of 
the word and its components, letters, syllables, etc., rather than with the 
object which it portrays. The commonest form of word-riddle is un- 
doubtedly the logogriph, which consists of arranging the letters or shift- 
ing the syllables of a word, so as to form other words. This species of 
puzzle, closely akin to our anagram, was well known to the Greeks, § and 
had a wide vogue in the Middle Ages. The earliest collection on English 
ground are the word-puzzles in the eleventh century Cambridge MS. Gg. 
V. 35, 418 b-419 a, which I have printed and discussed elsewhere. 1| The 
persistence of logogriphs in many English and continental manuscripts 1[ 

* Says Wackernagel, Hattpts Zs. Ill, 25 : ' Das Ratsel streift dem Inhalte wie 
der Form nach an das Liigenmarchen, das Sprichwort, die Priamel, die gnomische 
Poesie iiberhaupt, ja es giebt Ratsel, die man ebensowohl Marchen nennen kann ; 
in Marchen, Sagen, altertiimlichen Rechtsgebrauchen unseres Volkes wiederholen 
sich Fragen und Bestimmungen von absichtlich ratselhafter Schwierigkeit.' 

tic. 

t Wackernagel, Haiipts Zs. II, 562; my article in M.L.X. XVIII, 102. 

§ Compare Friedreich, p. 20; Ohlert, pp. 174, iSof. 

II Mod. Phil. II, 565!. See infra. 

H I class with their continental analogues a few examjiles from material gathered 
among the MSS. of the British Museum (see M. L. X. XVIII, 7, note). Castanea : 
Arundel 248 (r4th cent.), f. 67 b ; Cott. Cleop. B. IX (14th cent.), f. 10 b, No. 6; 
Sloane 955 (ca. 1612), f. 3 a, No. 2; also in MSS. of Brussels, Laon, Ghent, and 
Heidelberg (Mone, A/iz. VII, 42 f., Nos. 42, 56, 13S, 119). Paries: Arundel 
248, f. 67 b; Arundel 292 (13th cent.), f. 113 b (Wright, Altd. Blatter II, 14S) ; 
Brussels MS. 34 (Mone, p. 43); Reims MS. 743 (Mone, p. 45) ; Reusner II, 116. 
Formiea: Arundel 248, f. 67 b; Arundel 292, f. 113b; Innsbruck MS. 120, 
14th cent. {.Aiiz. f. </. A. XV, 1SS9, 143); Reusner II, 106. Dafes: .\rundel 
24S, f. 67 b ; Cott. Cleop. B. IX, f . 10 b. No. 5 ; MSS. of Brussels and Ghent (Mone, 
pp. 42, 49). Lux: Arundel 248, f. 67b; Arundel 292, f. 113b; Cott. Cleop. B. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xxiii 

shows the long-continued vogue of these playthings of pedantic scholar- 
ship. None of the Exeter Book riddles are logogriphs in the strict sense ; 
but such problems as Nos. 20, 24, 25, 37, 43, 65, 75, show the early 
enigmatograph's fondness for juggling with letters, and Aldhelm, whose 
liking for the acrostic is seen in the introduction to his enigmas, turns 
to good account the ' Paries ' logogriph in his word-play upon ' Aries.' 
The attempts to interpret Kid. i and 90 as ' Cynewulf ' logogriphs (which 
have so seriously affected the proper understanding of the whole collec- 
tion) will be later considered. 

At the veiy outset of our study of origins, of our comparison of the 
riddles of different authors or of various folks, we are met by a dangerous 
pitfall to the unwary, — the association of problems through their solutions 
rather than through their treatment of motives.* Riddles totally unlike 
in form, and yet dealing with the same theme, exist in different MSS. of 
nearly the same period, or even side by side in the same collection. The 
subjects in the interesting group of sixty-three Latin enigmas in the Bern 
MS. 611 of the ninth century (also Vienna MS. 67) are often those of 
Symphosius and Aldhelm, but only in a few cases can we detect similarity 
of treatment. Within the collection itself, t as in the Symphosius group, one 
subject receives a second handling of quite another sort : 23, 57, ' Fire,' 
and 34, 52, 'Rose.' Had Prehn realized this very obvious truth, that 
similarity of solutions is often coexistent with entire independence of 
treatment, he would not have erred so often in tracing the riddles of the 
Exeter Book to Latin sources with which they have naught in common ; 
but of this much more later. 

After thus marking that the same subjects are developed by different 
motives, we must note, too, that the converse is equally common, and 
that the same motives are often accorded to different subjects. For this 
there are at least four reasons that seem to deserve attention : {a) We 
are struck by the manifold use of motives appealing to men through the 
antithetical statement of an apparent impossibility. Wossidlo % shows 

IX, f. lob, No. 4; Sloane 513, f. 57 b, No. i ; German Book-cover of i6th cen- 
tury (Mone, A)iz. VIII, 317, No. 87); developed at end of 13th century into a 
German Kunstrdtsel by Heinrich von Neuenstadt, Apollonhis of Tyre, Rid. 6 
(Schroter, Mitth. der deutschen Gesellschaft ziir Erforschuiig vaterl. Sprache iind 
Altert/iiifner V, Heft 2 (Leipzig, 1872). 

* The discussion that follows is drawn from my article J/. L. ^V. XVIII, 4 f . 

t Later in the Introduction this MS. and its analogues will be carefully 
considered. | No. 78, p. 282. 



xxiv INTRODl'CTION 

thai the contrast of dead and li\ing appears in many riddles : Oak and 
Ship, .\shes and Fire, Tallow and Flame, Brush and Lice, Bed and 
Man. Af;ain, the motive of ' the child begetting its parent ' is found 
not only in the riddle of Ice * but in the (jreek enigma of Day and 
Night t and in the art-riddle of Smoke and Fire, i (/') The riddle is re- 
tained in memory, but the answer is forgotten and is eventually supplied 
with an inevitable loss of force. Symphosius's fine Bookmoth riddle 
(No. 1 6) appears in The Royal Riddle J-iook (p. 14) with the tame solu- 
tion ' Mouse in a Stud}- ": and in Holme Riddles, Nos. 61, 63, and 51, the 
weak answers ' Egg in a Duck's Bcllv," ' Penny in a Man's Purse,' and 
'Custards in an Oven' are given to the excellent folk-riddles of 'Maid 
on r)ridge with Pail of Water on her I lead," ^ ' Blast of a Horn," || and 
' Boats on Water. 'H The cleverness of a riddle in cunningly suggesting a 
false solution sometimes overreaches itself, and the true answer is in 
course of time crowded out by the usurper. Certain recently proposed 
answers to our E.xefer Rook Riddles are surely emendations of Baruch. 
Biblical riddles furnish strong proof of this lapse of solutions. The rid- 
dle of Lot's Daughters, perhaps the most widely known of ' relationship 
problems," is found at many periods and among many peoples with the 
proper answer.** Only in Germany ( Wossidlo 983) appears a general so- 
lution that reveals an ignorance or forgetfulness of the scriptural story. 
Petsch (p. 1 4) is doubtless right in his statement that ' after the school-time 
of the Cierman peasant he troubles himself little about the Old Testament, 
not hearing each Sunday his First Lesson like men of his class in Eng- 
land ' ; but this critic's conclusions regarding the riddle before us must be 
modihcd in view of its extensive range — only the answer, not the ques- 
tion, is wanting. To this disregard of the Bible is due the Tyrolese solu- 
tion of the old i:)roblem of a dozen countries,tt ' A water lock and a wooden 
kev ; the hunter is captured and the game escapes.' In Renk's collection 
from the Txrol-tt this riddle of 'the Red Sea, Moses's Rod, and the 

* See notes to A'id. 34. t Ohlert, p. 31. 

\ Symphosius, No. 7 ; Sloane MS. S4S (early 17th cent.), f. 32; Ilolnw Riddles, 
No. 14; Therander, Aeiiiginatographia, No. 31 {Zs.f. d. M. Ill, 130). 

§ Xoles and Queries, 3d Ser. VIII, 492. 

II Bk. Merry Riddles,^o.(i%{:^x2.\\A\.Jhrb. der deiitsch.Sh.-Gesellsch., XLII, 1906, 
p. 19). *\ Notes and Queries, 3d Ser. VIII, 503. 

** I shall pre-sent in detail the history of this interesting riddle in my notes to 
Rid. 47. ft Traced by Ohlert, p. 155 ; and Wossidlo, p. 304, No. 413. 

\\Zs. d. ]'. f. ]'k. V, 154. No. 121. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xxv 

Destruction of I'haraoli's Hosts' is found only in its first part, with the 
answer ' Sea and J3oat.' ((•) A motive long connected with a certain solu- 
tion may in a later time, or among another folk, become attached to other 
subjects and do double or triple duty. The well-known English Cherr}' 
riddle has much in common with three German puzzles — those of the 
Cherry, Arbutus, and Haw (' Hagebutte ').* Side by side with this may 
be placed the ( )nion-I^epper motive of early Latin and English riddles. t 
These totally distinct motives have been strangely confounded by Traut- 
mann in his ' Rosenbutz ' solution of the Exeter Book ' Onion ' riddle 
(No. 26^. X id) B)- far the most numerous of all riddles of lapsing or 
varying solutions are those distinctively popular and unrefined problems 
W'hose sole excuse for being (or lack of excuse) lies in double meaning 
and coarse suggestion. And the reason for this uncertainty of answer is 
at once apparent. The formally stated solution is so overshadowed by the 
obscene subject implicitly presented in each limited motive of the riddle, 
that little attention is paid to the aptness of this. It is after all only a 
pretense, not the chief concern of the jest. Almost any other answer 
will ser\'e equally well as a grave and decent anti-climax to the smut 
and horse-laughter of the riddle ; so every country, indeed every section, 
supplies different tags to the same repulsive queries. Wossidlo's material 
garnered directly from the folk furnishes a dozen examples : Dough and 
Spinning-wheel (No. 7 i a, p. 43); Kettle and Pike, Yarn and Weaver, 
Fr}'ing-pan and Hare (No. 434 a-e, p. 131 ) ; Soot-pole, Butcher, Ijosom, 
and Fish on the Hook (No. 434 i*, p. 309 ) ; I'runk-key and Beer-keg 
( No. 434 n*, p. 309) ; Stocking and Mower in Grass (No. 434 s*, p. 310) ; 
Jjutter-cask and Bread-scoop (No. 434 u*, p. 310). These instances abun- 
dantly prove the absurdity of dogmatizing over the answers to the Anglo- 
Saxon riddles of this class. 

I pass now to the likeness of motives in riddles of different times or 
localities. Three hypotheses in explanation of this similainty have been 
advanced by Gaston Paris in his suggestive Introduction to Rolland : § 

* Holme Rid. 29 ; Halliwell, Xitrsery Rhymes, p. 75, No. cxxx ; Chambers, Pop. 
Rhy7nes of Scotland, 1870, p. 109; Gregor, Folk-Lore of X. E. of Scotland, 1S.S1, 
p. So; Lincoln Riddles, No. 6 [jVotes and Queries, 3d Ser., VIII, 503) — all with 
Cherry motive. German : Lorichius, Reusner I, 281 (Arbutus); Frischbier, Zs.f. 
d. Ph. IX, 67, No. II, and Wossidlo, No. 181 (Cherry) ; Wossidlo, No. 209, notes, 
p. 295, many references (Haw). 

t Symphosius, No. 44 (Onion); Ri,i. 26, 66 (Onion); liern MS. 611, No. 37 
(Pepper). See also Royal Riddle Bool; p. 1 1. \ B.B. XIX, 1S5. § P. ix. 



xxvi INTRODUCTION 

(^) common origin; (/>) transmission; [C) identity of processes of the 
human mind. 

(.-7) C'oM.MON Origin, (a) P'oremost among problems of like ancestry 
arc ' world-riddles,' those puzzles that may be traced for thousands of 
years through the traditions of every people. In this list are the riddle of 
the Sphinx,* the queries of the Year,t Louse, $ Fire. § Sun and Sno\v,|| 
Cow, II and Sow with Pigs.** Heusler ft notes that ' the material of world- 
riddles, like proverbs and fables and tales, belongs to the class of " W'an- 
dermotiven," and underwent exchanges before the time of literary barter.' 
(/') ( )f a narrower range than the riddles of our hrst class are those of 
one race in its various branches. Distinclivelv Teutonic examples are the 
German-lMiglish j^roblcms of Chestnut and Nettle and Rose. JJ ((') Less 
extensive still are the riddles of one folk in its many sections and dialects : 
for example, the Cerman queries of Ten Birds (Wossidlo 170; known 
for centuries in e\crv corner of the Fatherland), Mirror (Wossidlo 63), 
and Alphabet (Wossidlo 469); or the peculiarly luiglish problems of 
Leaves, Rope, and Andrew. §§ 

( /) ) Transmission. Fxtensive range, particularlv of a modern riddle, 
is not in itself a proof of ' common origin," but often mereh' an indica- 
tion that it has been borrowed h\ neighboring nations from the land of 
its birth. Adjoining races, though but distantly related, possess in com- 
mt)n far more riddles than widely separated peo|jle of one stock. In 
France and Germany appear so often versions of the same problem 
(Rolland and Wossidlo, passim) that we can onlv suppose that legions 
of puzzles have at one time or other crossed the Rhine and Moselle and 
found ready adoption in the new laud and speech. And Schleicher's list 
of Lithuanian riddles || || includes a score of correspondences to Germanic 
queries, whit'h surelv cannot all be traceable to the cradle of the two 
races. But the best proofs of borrowing are these. Sometimes we are 
able to obser\e the \er\- act of transmission. The Dcmaitndes Joyous 

* Friedreich p. 87 ; Ohlert jip. 31-35. t Notes to Kid. 23. 

X M. L. N. XVIII, 3-4. § Ohlert, pp. 60, 72. 

11 Arnason, Islenzkar Gdtiir, 1S87, Introd. ; Wossidlo, No. 99, p. 283; supra. 

1 Rolland, No. 44, p. 22 ; No. 400, p. 152 ; Wossidlo, No. 165, p. 291. 

** Heusler, Zv. </. C. /. Vk.W. 141. 

ft lb. 126. 

\\ .1/. L. X. XVni, 7, note ; notes to Ifolme Rid. Nos. 31, 32, 144. 

§§ i)/. L. N. 1. c. ; notes to Ilohne Rid. Nos. 57, 105, 1 1 1, 115. 

nil Litauisclie Aliirc/ieii, Spric/iworte, Rd/sc-/ iind I.icder. NN'einiar, iS57,pp. 103 f. 



THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RIDDLES xxvii 

printed by W'vnkyn de W'orde (1511)* is, in the main, but a series of 
selections from the Dcmaiiiidcs Joyeuscs en maniere de quolibetz,^ as 
Kemble has shown. | Then, too, the riddles that in the Middle Ages had 
the widest vogue, at least in manuscript, — if we may judge from the 
scanty evidence of extant mediaeval collections, — were not J^olksrdtsel 
at all, but Latin logogriphs which are ever the product of the study. 
There is, of course, no possibility of ' common origin ' with such com- 
positions as these : they must perforce be directly lent or borrowed. 
Even, however, with riddles of different periods or sections of one coun- 
try, genuine folk-products though they may appear, we must often be 
prepared to find direct transmission through either literature or tradi- 
tion. The few parallels between the thirty-five HeiSreks Gdtur in the 
Herva7'ar Sciga and the modern Icelandic folk-riddles {Islciizkar Gdtur 
— II 94 numbers) are rightly regarded by Heusler § as due to the im- 
mediate literary working of the Old Norse queries. 

(C) Identity of Mental Processes. The third cause of the simi- 
larity of riddles must always be taken into account, after careful study 
of origins and comparison of motives have eliminated all possibilities of 
a common source and of direct or indirect transmission. When the 
counterpart of the ' Flood and Fish ' riddle of Symphosius (No. 1 2) 
meets us among Turkish queries, || we are naturally inclined to believe 
that this widely known riddle has penetrated even to the Bosphorus ; 
but we can hardly explain thus the similarity of the motives in the 
Persian 'Ship' problem of Nakkash, d. 938 a.d.,1[ — 'It makes its 
way only upon its belly, cutting, though footless, through the girdle of 
the earth' — to those in the 151st riddle of the Islenzkar Gdtur \ or the 
surprising likeness of many Sanskrit riddles ** to our modern charades ; 
or even the parallels between the Anglo-Saxon problems of musical in- 
struments {Kid. 32, 70 ) and the Lithuanian ' Geige ' riddles. tt Indeed, 

* This interesting collection was reprinted in Hartshorne's Ancient Metrical 
Tales, London, 1S29, pp. i-S. 

t A copy of the French te.xt — a very rare little octavo — is in the British 
Museum. It bears no date, but is assigned by the Catalogue to 1520, by Kemble 
with greater probability to 1500 or before. 

t Salomon and Salurniis, p. 2S6. Compare Ihandl,y/^;7'. Jer d. SIi.-Gesell. XLII 
(1906), 2-3. %Zs. d. V. f. J7c. XI, 128. 

II Urqtiell IV, 22, No. 10. If Friedreich, p. 164. 

** Fiihrer, Zs. der deiitschen 7/nn-genl. Gesellschaft XXXV, 1S85, 99-102. 

tt Schleicher, p. 200. 



xxviii INTRODUCTION 

the case seems to be this. While, as we have seen, similarity of subject 
does not necessarily imply similarity of motives, there are of course 
certain themes that, from their limited nature, prescribe a particular 
treatment. However unaided may be the act of composition, essential 
traits of these subjects must be named, described, disguised, or sum- 
marized. Surely all likeness entailed by the \-cry nature of the topic 
cannot be regarded as irreconcilable with a j)crfectly independent crea- 
tion. Riddles, remote and unrelated though they be, must, after all, say 
somewhat the same things of the commonplaces of life. At times indeed 
— and now 1 must point to my present heading — this correspondence 
is carried far bexond the necessities of the subject through man\- combi- 
nations and permutations of motives, for riddle-literature, like ever)- other, 
has its striking coincidences ; but these instances are comparatively rare, 
since diversit\- of de\elopment, unlikeness in likeness, is here as else- 
where the badge of independence. 'J'he rarit}' of cases of complete re- 
semblance between two riddles with no historical kinship gives them a 
peculiar \alue for us ; and the evidence of such ])oppclgdnger for a solu- 
tion is surely of far more weight than the random guesses of a modern 
interpreter. 

In discussing the originals and analogues of the Exeter Book Ridillcs 
I shall seek to apply the jjrinciples adduced in the present chapter. 



II 

ORIOINALS AND ANALOCIUES OF THE 
EXETER BOOK RIDDLES 

SVMI'HOSIUS 

August Heumann, in his excellent edition of the Eiiiginatica of 
Symphosius,* set up the thesis that ' Symphosius ' was the lost Sym- 
posium of Lactantiusf mentioned by Jerome. I Other editors, notably 
Migne§ and Fritzche,|| follow Heumann in including these loo riddles 

* Hanover, i 722. 

t Goetz, Rhehiiscltes Miiseion XLI, 318, shows on the evidence of a gloss in the 
tenth-century Codex Cassinus 90, 'simposium vel simphosium (MS. simphonium) 
aenigma quod Firmianus (MS. et) Lactantius composuit (MS. coniposuerunt),' 
that the enigmas were at an early time attributed to Lactantius. 

t 7}e I'/r/s Illustrihiis, cap. So. § P. I.. VII. 285. || IL 298. 



ORICINALS AND ANALOGUES xxix 

in editions of Lactanlius. Heumann's contention was opposed by Werns- 
dorff * on two grounds : (tr) The prologue of seventeen hexameters in- 
troducing the enigmas mentions our poet by name, ' Haec quoque 
Symposius t de carmine lusit inepto.' (/^) Symphosius is named by 
several early writers, among them Aldhelm {Epistola ad Acircium) : 
' Symp(h)osius poeta metricae artis peritia praeditus occultas aenigmatum 
propositiones exili materia sumtas ludibundus apicibus legitur cecinisse 
et singulas quasque propositiones formulas tribus versibus terminasse.' 
The conclusion of Pithoeus, -t cited with approval by Wernsdorff, that our 
author was ' Caelius Firmianus Symphosius,' the maker of other poems of 
the Latin Anthology, has, however, been abandoned by recent scholars. § 
Yet all modern editors unite in accepting for these enigmas an author 
called ' Symphosius.' Such is the view of Paul || and Schenkl,1[ and of 
the editor of the oldest manuscript of the riddles (the Codex Salmasianus ), 
Riese in the Latin Anthology.** 

Regarding the date of Symphosius, there has been much dispute. 
Wernsdorff tt would assign him to the fourth century; Paul t| and 
SchenkllT to the fourth or fifth; L. Mi.iller§§ to the second or third, on 
account of his metrical skill; and Hagen || || follows Riese (1868) in as- 
cribing him to the same period as the collector of the poems of the Latin 
Anthology, the end of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth centuries. 
The text of the riddles is contained in numerous manuscripts, which 
range from the eighth to the eleventh century and are divided between 
two recensions. nil Since the edition of Perionius *** there have been 
various editions and commentaries upon these enigmas — discussed by 
Friedreich, ttt Riese, and Teuffel. The best of these is that of Riese.** 

The enigrnas of Symphosius consist each of three hexameter lines of 
good Latinity, and are one hundred in number. Their metrical preface 
connects them with the festival of the Saturnalia (' Annua Saturni dum 

* roetae Latini Miiiores, Ilelmstadt, 1799, VI, 424. 

t Riese, Ant/i. Lat. I, 221, 'Symphosius.' 

% Poetnatia Vetera, Paris, 1590. 

§ Cf. Teuffel, I/ist. of Roman Liieratio-e, 1S92, §449, i. 

II Dissertatio de Symposii Aenie;inatis (Part I), Berlin, 1S54, p. 14. 

% SitztiJtgsber. der phil.-liist. Kl. der ll'ieiier Akad. XLIII (1863), p. 12. 

** Anthologia Latiiia, 1894, I, 221-246. tt P. 414. \\V. t,6. 

§§ De Re Metrica, p. 55 (cited by Schenkl). 

nil Aiitike u. Mittetatterlic/ie Rdthsetpoesie, Bern, 1877, p. 23. 

tif Cf. Riese, 1. c. and Teuffel, 1. c. *** Paris, 1 533. ttt Pp. 187-188. 



XXX INTRODUCTION 

tempora festa redirent ") ; and, while this association is more than doubt- 
ful, they are thoroughly pagan in character. Ebert * divides them, accord- 
ing to subject, into six categories : (i) living things, especially beasts, less 
frequently man in strange aspects; (2) plants as flowers or food; (3) 
clothing and ornaments ; (4) domestic implements ; (5) structures — ■ the 
ship, the bridge, the ladder ; (6) meteorological phenomena — mist, rain, 
snow. ' The subjects,' he remarks, ' are drawn from the external world, 
and include for the most part objects which are closely associated with 
man in his daily life.' 

The enigmas of Symphosius have dominated all riddles, both artistic and 
popular, since his day. To be sure, some of the problems to which he 
gave a wide vogue had been current in the mouths of men for centuries 
before his time.f Others became immediately and widely popular. But 
at no place and time were they in greater favor than in England of the 
eighth century. Aldhelm not only hails Symphosius as a model in his 
Epistola ad Acini it m (siipfa) and draws freely upon his verses, t but in 
his enigmas borrows subjects (Nos. 51, A fold \ 92, Aliilier quae genii- 
?ios pariebat) and attaches himself to the older riddler both in matter 
and form {infra). % In the Flares of the Pseudo-Bede,|| five riddles from 
Symphosius (Nos. i, 7, 4, 11, 10) are quoted in full.*^ And in the Dis- 
piitatio Fippini cum Albino** Alcuin paraphrases seven riddles from the 
earlier writer (Nos. 75, 30, 14, 98, 99. 11, 96). The other Anglo-Latin 
collections of enigmas exhibit a slight connection with Symphosius {infra) ; 
and, as I shall show later, the Exeter Book Riddles owe him an important 
debt. Very close is the relation of the enigmas of Symphosius to the 
ApoUonius of Tyre story, so popular in the Middle Ages.ft Various ver- 
sions of this tale contain a larger or smaller number of enigmas, until in 

* Ber. iiher die Vcrh. der k. siichs. Gcscllsc/i. dcr II'/ss. zii Leipzig, Phil.-Hist. 
Classe, 1877, p. 21. 

t Ohlert, pp. 138 f., has pointed out that Symphosius uses in many enigmas, those 
of Smoke, Vine, Ball, Saw, Sleep (17, 53, 59, 60, 96), the queries of the Palatine 
Anthology {su/>ra), and such world-old riddles as that of the Louse (see my articles 
in A/. L. A\ XVIII, 3) receive his guinea-stamp (No. 30, Pediadiis). 

\ Manitius, Zti Aldhelm intd Baeda, 18S6, p. 51, fully illustrates this indebtedness. 

§ Ebert, Ber. d. .c G., p. 22. 

II Migne, P. L. XCIV, 539 f. See infra. 

IT Manitius, p. 82; my article in Mod. Phil. II, 561. 

** Wilmanns, Ilaupts Zs. XIV, 530. 

tt Cf. Weismann, Ale.xander, Frankfort, 1850, I, 473 f. ; Schroter, Mitth. der 
deutschen Gesellsch. ztir Erf. der vaierl. Sprache etc., Leipzig, V, 2 (1872), p. xiv. 



ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES xxxi 

the Middle (jcrmaii I'olksbiiih* form we encounter translations of no 
less than ten problems (Nos. 89, 61, 63, 11,2, 13, 69, 77, 78, 59) into the 
vernacular. At least three of the Symphosius riddles (Nos. 11, 89, 13) 
passed from the Apollonius story into the Gesta Romanoriim, chap. 153. 
In the sixteenth century the enigmas were translated into Greek by 
Joachim Camerarius (ca. 1540), and expanded by many others of 
Reusner's pedants. f 

Aldhelm 

From Aldhelm of Malmesbury (640-709), Bishop of Sherburne, we 
possess one hundred riddles in hexameters. % Of these William of 
Malmesbury tells us : § ' Extat et codex ejus non ignobilis " de Enigmati- 
bus " poetae Simphosii emulus centum titulis et versibus mille distinctus.' 
In this last phrase, as William's next words show, he is simply accepting 
the description of the enigmas furnished by the acrostic which the first 
and last letters of the thirty-six lines of Aldhelm 's poetical preface com- 
pose, ' Aldhelmus cecinit millenis versibus odas,' — a description not 
strictly correct, as only eight hundred hexameters appear. Unlike the 
enigmas of Symphosius, the hundred poems of Aldhelm are of var)'ing 
length : nineteen tetrastichs, fifteen pentastichs, thirteen hexastichs, nine- 
teen heptastichs, ten octostichs, eleven enneastichs, four decastichs, four 
hendecastichs, one dodecastich, one triscaedecastich, one pentecaedeca- 
stich, one heccaedecastich, and one polystichon {De Creatiira). The in- 
debtedness of these to Symphosius is sometimes greatly overstated. || 
Indeed, Aldhelm's chief debt is found not in his enigmas but in the 
Epistola ad Acirciinn or Liber de Septenario, which serves as a prose 
preface to his riddles.lT In this tractate upon prosody, which was sent 
to Ealdferth, King of Deira and Bernicia, in the tenth year of his reign, 
695, and which was perhaps originally an independent work,** he ac- 
knowledges his indebtedness to Aristotle and to the books of the Old 
'I'estament, but chiefly to Symphosius, from whom he draws at least a 
dozen illustrations. ft It is interesting to note that this treatise on meter 

* .Schrciter, p. Ixxv. 

t Reusner, Aenigmatoffrap/iia sive Sylloge Aemgrnatum etc. Frankfort, 1602. 

\ J. A. Giles, S. Aldlielmi Opera, 1844, pp. 249-270. 

§ Gesta Poiitificum Angloriim V, § 196, Rolls Series, 1870, pp. 343-344- 

II Cf. authorities cited by Friedreich, p. 191. 

1[ Giles, S. Aldhelmi Opera, pp. 2i6f. 

** Bonhoff, Aldhelm von Maliiieshitry, Dresden, 1894, p. 114. 

ft These are cited in full by Manitius, Aldhelm und Baeda, p. 51. 



xxxii INTRODUCTION 

contains one of the best known of world-riddles, that of the Ice, ' Mater 
me genuit, eadem inox gignitur ex nie,' which does not appear in Sym- 
j)h()sius, Init is fouiul in tiie Exeter Book, 34''-".* 

IJelween the enij;iiias of Aldhelm and Symphosius the verbal resem- 
blances are not great. t Indeed, the same subjects are often treated by the 
two in verv differiMit fashion. Like Symphosius, Aldhelm makes the dumb 
nature of iiianiinale things speak, but for this jiersonihcation he pleads 
the piwrdenl of the IJihle. | VWxV has noletl ^ the chief differences be- 
tween the poels. i'o the categories of subjects which are treated hv 
S\iiiphosius and which receive further elaboration from Aldhelm, the 
younger wiilrr adds new themes: the lira\-enl\- bodies, the elements, and 
such abslraclions as N'atui'e, I'ali'. The Creation. As lionhoff well ex- 
pn.'sses it, II ' Uci Aldhelm iibcrwit-gt mehr das dem CuMnianen so eigene 
sinniganschauliche Siclnersenken in die \atur, ilire WiukUm- und VVerke, 
wiihreiid S\'mphosius als ciii Romaiu' lirhci" das wrstandnismiissige und 
(.■spriUollc Spiclen unci ranck'ln in WOrl und Ausdruck sucht.' l'"bert 
also jjoints to ihc presence- in these enigmas of the ( 'hristian element, 
which is tolalK lacking in the riddles of Svmphosius.il This is seen not 
oiil\- in the pidblcnis of I'ate (i, 7) and Creation (xiii), but in those oi 
the I )o\e (iii, <) ), Api)le-tree (iv, 15), l'"ig-tree (iv, 16), and Lucifer 
(vii, j; ), all of which are based upon Jewish-Christian slorv. ( )ther 
Christian traces aic marked bv I'".bert (ii, 14; vi, 4; viii, 3). And yet 
there are manv references to classical mythology : to the Minotaur (ii, i i), 
to the threads of the I'arcae ( iv, 7), to love's eagle and Ganymede 
(v, J), to Sc\ 11a (X), anil frcquentlv in his polvstich, the De C/rdfiini. 
Against all such heathen fables he inveighs in his enigma on the Sun 
and Moon (viii, 3). 

All critics have noted the largci- scale and freer treatment of Aldhelm's 
enigmas comparc-d with those of his model ; but, while the writer ol 
Malmesburv has obviously gained in romantic breadth, he has lost not 
a little. I'Apanding in the joy of creation, he often forgets his riddle's 

* For history of this riildle, see J/. /,. X. X\TII, 4, und notes to Kid. 34. 

t These p:ir:illels are cited by Taiil, Dissertatio de Symposii Aenigmatil'iis, 1854, 
p. If), and by Manitiiis, pp. jSf., who greatly overstates Hkenesses. Two enigmas 
are borrowed (i, 10, Sym. ^^z ; iv, 12, Sym. 51), and occasionally a striking motive, 
like that of 'the biter bitten,' ' mordeo mordentes ' (Sym. 44'), which Aldhelm, 
iii, 15, tratisfers from the Onion, adapting it to the Nettle, ' torqueo torquentes.' 

\ F.pistola ad Aiirciiini, (liles, p. 229. § Pp. 22-23. H ^'- ''5" 

Tf See also Manitius, Christl. Lat. Poesie, p. 4S9. 



ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES xxxiii 

excuse for beinf;^, and lifts the veil of his mystery (Ebert). Or else he 
falls into the opposite fault of needlessly complicating and obscuring his 
meaning. That his contemporaries found many lines difificult is shown 
by the large number of Latin and English glosses which we meet in the 
liritish Museum manuscripts of his enigmas.* 

Tatwink 

Of Tatwine, the author of the third collection of enigmas with which 
we have to do, we know little more than we are told by Bede.f He was 
a Mercian out of the district of the Hwiccas, and succeeded Berhtwald (d. 
January 13, 731) as Archbishop of Canterbury. I le was consecrated June 

10, 731, but did not receive the pallium until 733. Almost nothing is 
known of his rule. He died July 30, 734. As both Ebert and Hahn 
point out, he \vas a philosoj^her, a theologian, and a grammarian. And, 
what is more to our present purpose, he was an enigmatograph,' the 
author of forty Latin riddles, t That the manuscripts preserve the origi- 
nal order of the enigmas is proved by the double acrostic — formed from 
the first and last letters of the first lines of the poems — corresponding 
to the introductory distich 

Sub deno quater haec diverse enigmata torquens 
Staminc metrorum exstructor conserta retexit. 

Of the forty riddles, twent3''-two consist of five hexameters, nine of four, 
seven of six, one of seven, and one of twelve. Both Ebert and Hahn 
point to the revelation of Tatwine's personality in these enigmas. That 
he is a theologian is shown by his choice of religious or churchly themes 
in one third of his riddles : church furniture, the Christian virtues, topics 

* MS. Royal 15, A. XVI ; MS. Royal 12, C. XXIII. Cf. comments of Wright, 
/>/(>£: />'r/i. Lit. I, 78, and Bonhoff, p. 115. For the glosses themselves see 
Wright's edition of the enigmas {Anglo-Laiiii Satirical Poets, Rolls Series, 1872, 

11, 533-573) and Napier, O. E. Glosses, pp. 191 f. 

t Eccl. Hist. V, cap. 23, 24. Compare Ebert, p. 25 ; Ilahn, Forscli. ziir deiitscheii 
Gesch. XXVI (1886), 603 f. 

% These are preserved in two MSS. in company with the enigmas of Kusebius 
{infra) ; the one at Cambridge, MS. Gg. V, 35 ; the other in the B. M., MS. Royal 

12, C. XXIII. The enigmas of both poets were edited from the Cambridge MS. 
by Giles (Anealota Bedae, Laiifraiici et Alioriim, Caxton Society, 185 1); those 
of Tatwine, from the London MS. by Wright {Anglo-Latin Satirical Poets, Rolls 
Series, 1872, II, 525-534), who knew nothing of the other manuscript or of the 
earlier edition; and finally from both texts by Ebert, Ber. iiber die I'er/i. der k. 
sacks. Gesellsch. der Wiss. zu Leipzig, Phil.-Hist. Classe, 1877, ])p. 20 ff. 



xxxiv INTRODUCTION 

of dogma. That he is a philosopher becomes at once apparent in liis 
first and longest problem, Dc Fhilosophia, and is further indicated by 
his love of abstractions and of speculation.* That he is a grammarian 
is attested not only by the selection of such a topic as ' Prepositions 
governing' both cases' (No. i6), but by the narrow range of his fancy 
and the sobriety of his style, f 

Tatwine owes very little to his predecessors. Unlike Ebert, X and like 
Hahn, § I can detect no striking resemblances between his enigmas and 
those of Symphosius on similar or kindred themes. In the si.\ riddles 
(Nos. 6, 7, 1 1, 20, 28, 32) that invite comparison with the earlier enigmas, 
the very slight likenesses seem to me to lie rather in the coincidence of 
subjects than in actual borrowing. To Aldhelm he may acknowledge 
perhaps a small debt, which has been greatly overstated by Manitius in 
his list of alleged parallels between the Anglo-Latin riddlers || and even by 
Ebert. In the eight riddles cited by Hahn as suggesting a slight resem- 
blance to the older collection H we sometimes have motives common to 
all the Anglo-Latin riddles (4, 5, 6) and very possibly the possession 
of the folk. But an occasional lifting of Aldhelm's phrases, not only 
when he is dealing with like subjects (12, 31, 39), but elsewhere in 
the group (T. ii\ A. iv, 3^; T. ly'*, A. i, 14''; T. 24^ A. De Creatum 
21, etc.) puts bevond doubt a direct relation. Hahn observes with not 
a little plausibilitv:** — ' Bei der grossen Neigung der Gelehrten dcs 8. 
Jahrh. zur wirklichen Ausbeutung ihrer litterarischen Vorbilder ist der 
Wegfall solcher Pliinderung eigentlich fur die L^nabhangigkeit zweier 
Schriftsteller von einander bedeutungsvoll.' Vet when we remember 
that Aldhelm himself, ordinarily a mighty lifter, greatly restricted his 
borrowings from his model Symphosius, Hahn's argument loses much 
of its weight. 

EUSEBIUS 

Over the identity of Eusebius, the author of the sixty riddles which 
accompany those of Tatwine in the Cambridge and British Museum 
manuscripts, there has been much discussion. Ebert ft declares that 'we 
know nothing of him, because the conjecture of Giles t| that he is the 

* See Manitius, Christl. Lat. Poesie, p. 503. 

t See Ebert, Litt. des Mitt, im Abeiuilande I, 651. J Ber. </. s. G., p. 26. 

§ P. 61 1. II Aldhelm mid Baeda, pp. 79-82. 

1 Tatwine 4, Aldhelm iv, i ; T. 5, A.v, 9; T. 6, A.v, 3; T. 12, A.vi, 4; T. 30, 
A. iv, 10; T. 31, A.vii, 4 ; T. 33, A.v, 10; T. 39, A. ii, 10. 

** P. 612. tt Ber. d. s. G., p. 27. tt Aiiecdota, Preface, p. x. 



OKKHNALS AND ANALOCUES XXXV 

I'lusc'bius to whom lirdc clrdicatrd his coiiiniriUaiy upon llic A|)ocal\psc 
is without support.' I"-bcrt achiiils, however, tliat nothin}^' in his riddles 
nulitales against the theory that he was a c-onteniporar\' of 'I'atwine. 
llahu* follows ("liles in identifying the author of our enigmas with 
Musebius, ihi' frit'iid of Bede. He had previously proved beyond all 
tloubtf that this friend was IIwcelberL, Abbot of Wearmouth in Noith- 
umbria. I II wietbert-luisebius is clearly revealed by llahn ; but that the 
great abbot of the North is the maker of our enigmas, is merel\- a happy 
conjecture inca]:)able of positive proof. The conjecture rests, however, 
on such high probabilities of time and |)Iace § that a brief sketch of 
llwictbert may be drawn from Ilahn's ami)le material. He was born 
about 680 (his early teacher, Sigfrid, died in 6SS, and Hwn?tbert was 
young enough to be called ' ju\enis ' in 716), and was in his Noung man- 
hood at Rome under Pope Sergius (687-701 ). He was ordained priest 
in 704, and chosen Abbot of Wearmouth on June 4, 716. 'I'hat he 
was a scholar is e\idenced by l^ede's tribute (s///>rir). He was honored 
by the dedication not only of his friend's commentary upon the Apoca- 
lypse but of his scientific work of 726, Dr Ratioiie 7'r/>if>ori/i/i.\\ He 
was probably the author of the anommous ' l,iU'" ol his pr<.'decessor in 
the abbacy, C'eolfrid, whom, in an admirable letter still extant, he com- 
mends to the kindly offices of (Iregory H.H That he was still living in 
the forties of the eighth century is proved by a letter addressed to him 
by the missionary bishop Boniface between 744 and 747.** 

Other things speak for his authorship of our enigmas, besides favor- 
able conditions of time and place. In favor of this view is the internal 
evidence of the enigmas themselves ; although ujjon this we must not 
lay undue stress, as his enigmas are not nearly so distinctive as those of 
Tatwine. The riddler Kuscbius seems to have been a theologian and 
divine (Nos. 1-5), although, unlike Tatwine, he avoids subjects of the 

* Forsch. zur i/eiit.n/ieii GcscJiiilitc XXVI (1SS6), 601 f. Cf. Eilemann, /h-rrigs 
Arcltiv CXI (1903), 5S. 

\ Bonifaz und Lid, Leipzig, 1SS3, pp. 213-218. 

\ Bede thus speaks of him in his remarks upon the first book of Samuel the 
prophet (Giles, Opera Bedae VIII, 162), ' Iluetbertum juvenem cui amor studi- 
umcpie pietatis jam olim Eusebii cognomen indidit.' 

§ The identification is accepted by T'-liert, l.itt. des Milt, int Ahoidlaiidc I, 1S89, 
p. 652, and Manitiiis, Clirisll. I. at. Poesie, p. 502. 

II (iiles, Opera VI, 139-140. H Ilahn, pp. 216-217. 

**Jaffe, Bibliotlieca III, iSo, No. 62; discussed by Ilahn, Bonifaz, p. 213. 



XX.W 1 



INI'KODUCTION 



C'liristian cull: * lu- shows a krcn inlcivst in chronoloj^v ( Nos. 26, 29) 
and j;raniniar (Nos. 9, k), _v), 42) — laslcs bditlin^' a iVirni,! of llrdc ; 
and in liis later cni^nias ( N'os. 41 60), which were perhaps wiitteii, as 
l*"bert su[;gesls, tor use in the school, he (lisi)la\s an accuiaU' knowk'dm' 
of "the j^ieat textbook oi his time, Isidore's /''Jyinologics.i A stiikiui; 
eharaeteristic of his enigmas is his lo\e of contrasts (Nos. S, 15, iS, ji, 
24, 27, 4S K I l'"bei"t rightly regards his liltuarx wmknianship as interior 
t(i that of Tatwine. The liist fortN' of his e'nignias consist each of four 
hexanielers ; the last twi'nt\, so diftei'ent fioin their pii'ck-cessors in 
origin, matter, and torm. are ot \ai\ing lengths. 

Now, what is the relation of the enigmas of iMisi'hius to those of 
Tatwine. which the\' accompaiiN' ? I'lhert ji ad\aiue(l the opinion that 
l''usel)ius .sought. h\' supplementing Talwinc's lorl\- riiKHcs with sixt\' 
otlu-rs, to m.ike a new riddle-book ot one hundred (jueiies like the 
groups ol S\ m|>hosius and .\ldhelni (compare also the ninet\-li\e pi'ob- 
iems of the /'.".wAv /wvXm. 'I'hat we ma\ not assunu- the lewrse relation 
.seems exidenl lor two reasons: T;U\\inc lirmU esl;ihlishes the numbei' 
of his |)idhlcms 1)\ his acrostic; JMisehius is lunxl put to it to raise his 
own luiniber to si\l\- ;md is tlri\en to new sources {s///'f;n. k'rom the 
inteinal e\ itlenci.' ol the single enigmas wi' c;m draw no \;ilual)le con- 
clusion reganling the relation of the two groups, as. with one eNce|)tion, 
tlu're is no likeness in thought ami word hi'lween the pidbk-ms that 
h:mdle like themes (!•",. 7,'!'. 4; 1'".. S, l'.,>^^; I'.. 17. T. <) : 1'".. 24. 1.23; 
1'".. 27. T. 25 ; !'.. j;2, T. 5 ; 1''.. t,(k T. 30). In ihe • I'en' probk-ms ( 1"". 35. 
'I'. ()). where we li;i\(.' at least one common motixe, not only are botii 
writers in the w.ike (.A .\ldhelm (w j; ), but both are empkwing" ideas cur- 
i\'nt in :ill riiklle pot.' try of the time.|| Though tin.' manner of luisebius is 
not imlike that ot ,S\-mphosius. there is little trace ol direct borrowing troni 
the earlier and wittier waiter. The resc-mblances (I'"., id, .S. ,S| ; I'".. 34. 
S. 1 1 ; I'"., v"^- ■'■'■ '4 ; !'■• 4,5. ^- .v'^^ '"■'■' 'i'>t striking, antl ma\' well be en- 
tailed b\ the demands of like subji\'ts. ()f the lirst h)rt\- riddles of 



* Cf. Kl)eit, Ju-r. ,i. s. (/., p. 2S. 

t lUiclieler, A'/uw/i. Jfiis. XXXVI, 340, and Ilalin, ]ip. 619-624, give alnindant 
proof tliat Kuselnu.s did not go directly to IMiny and .Solinus, as Kl>ert .supposed, 
but derived from tliese autluns throiigl\ Isitloie. See also I'liert, IJtt. ifcs Mitt, 
im Alh-iutl. I, 18S9, p. 652, N. 

\ See Manitius, Christl. I.nt. /Ws/t\ p. 504. § /ur. ,/. .>•. (7., p. 27. 

II C"f. Khert, Ilatipts Zs. XXI 11, 200; tlie writer, .1/. /,. X. XXI, io2, and notes 
to AVY. 52. 



OKICINALS AND ANALOCiUKS xxxvii 

Kuscliius, sixteen iinilc tDiiiparison with .Vklhclin through their trcal- 
mcnt of similai' subjects.* ( )t' these, eight are totally independent (I*-. 4, 
A. xiii, 1 ; E. 5, A. vi, 2 ; K. 7, A. iv, i ; E. 10, A. viii, 3 ; E. 1 1, A. i, 6 ; 
E. 15, A. iii, X ; E. 28, A.v, i; E. 36, A. iv, 10); four display a slight 
connection (E. 6, A. i, i ; E. 8, A. i, 2 ; E. 32, A.v, 9 ; E. ^;^, A. ii, 14) ; 
two show a still more marked relation (E. 31, A.v, 9; E. 35, A.v, 3); 
and two arc very closely bound to their prototypes (E. 37, De Fifu/o, 
A. iii, 1 I ; E. 40, /A' /'/sa', A. iii, 10). On account of the last few exam- 
ples, Ilahn is inclined, with Ebert, to believe in a direct employment by 
Eusebius of Aldhelm's enigmas; but he sanely distinguishes 'between 
collective and iiidixidual use, between transmissk)n by book and by tra- 
dition.' ' It is very possible that single riddles of Aldhelm and of others 
were transmitted, as themes of wit and entertainment, from monastery 
to monastery, and from mouth to mouth; and thus arose the u.se of 
particular riddles and not of the whole collection.' Though only three of 
the last twenty enigmas of Eusebius bear any resemblance even of topic 
to Aldhelm"s (E. 48, A. xii ; E. 56, A. iv, 2 ; E. 57, A. iii, 7), yet these 
latter riddles ai^jDroach far more closely to his manner, and may be the 
additions of another hand than that of Eusebius. 

Latin Enicmas ani> thk Exetrr Book 

The relation between the Exeter Book Riddles and the Latin enigmas 
current in the eighth century was first touched upon by Thorpe in his 
Preface t : ' Collections of Aenigmata have been left us by Symphosius, 
Aldhelm, Beda and (jthers ; but these are, generally speaking, extremely 
short, and although they may have occasionally suggested a subject to 
our scof> whereon to exercise his skill, yet are those in the present collec- 
tion too essentially Anglo-Saxon to justify the belief that they are other 
than original prodiu'tions.' \\\ his first article j' Dietrich indicates the 
inck'btedness of llu' Anglo-Saxon collection to certain models. Once or 
twice we have a direct reference to learned sources. § Among these 
sources are Symphosius and Aldhelm. According to Dietrich, || J\id. 17, 

* Hahn, pp. 628-629. t P. 10. t Ihuipis As. XI, 450 f. 

§ We can, however, lay very little stress upon such phrases as Rid. 43^, hdiii 
he h?c tvitan (a reference to the knowledge of runes), and a,o^'^, gewritii sc'ci^vfi', as 
neither of these riddles (40 or 43) seems to owe aught to the Latin enigmas ; and 
the words, A'/'d. 29^', J/('« t/Ki/if/dde si' />e me i^e.ucgde introduce a riddle-motive uni- 
versally popular at this period (J/. Z. N. XVIII, 99). || XI, 251 f. ; XII, 241. 



xxxviii INTRODUCTION 

48, and 61 show close verbal borrowings from Symphosius ; while Rid. 36, 
39, and 41 are derived sentence for sentence from Aldhelm. In Rid. 6, 14, 
29, 37, 51, 54, individual points are borrowed from the Latin enigmas.* 
In the so-called second series Dietrich notes a freer employment of Sym- 
phosius (AW. 66, 84, 85, 86, 91 ), and a few traits from Aldhelm {Rid. 64, 
71, 84). He draws from his ver)- doubtful premises the conclusion that ' a 
closer dependence upon Latin models is a constant trait of the first series, 
a freer movement predominates in the second.' From the references to 
' writings ' in Rid. 40, from the C and B runes which precede Rid. 9 and 
18 and which may stand for the Lat. camena and ballista, Dietrich con- 
jectures a third Latin source, but ' none has been discovered which casts 
any light upon the problems in question.' Dietrich also points out the pop- 
ular elements in such riddles as Rid. 23, 14, 52, 34, 43, 10, etc., and 
notes parallels among the German folk-riddles. f Miiller's contribution 
to the Cothener Frografnm (1861) adds nothing to Dietrich's treatment 
of sources. But in 1877 Ebert, in his essay upon the riddle-poetry of 
the Anglo-Saxons, % seeks to show that our riddler, whom he identifies 
with Cynewulf, probably used Tatwine's enigmas, and certainly those of 
Eusebius. The English riddles which he believes to be indebted to the 
Latin are Rid. 7 ( E. 10) ; 14 (T. 4, E. 7) ; 15, 93 (E. 30) ; 21 (T. 30) ; 
27 (T. 5, 6 ; E. 31, 32) ; 30 (E. 11) ; 39 (E. 37) ; but, as I shall show, 
there is in none of these cases any conclusive proof of a direct literaiy 
connection. 

Li a monograph which, by its perversion of method and unwarranted 
conclusions, has done no little harm to the proper understanding of the 
Exeter Book problems and their relations, Prehn § aims to find for nearly 
every Anglo-Saxon riddle a Latin prototype among the enigmas of Sym- 
phosius, Aldhelm, Tatwine, and Eusebius. He thus summarizes his re- 
sults : II ' An exclusive use of Symphosius is found in twelve riddles, of 
Aldhelm in seventeen, of Eusebius in five, while Tatwine is never used 

* All of Dietrich's statements regarding sources must be considerably modified 
and discounted in the light of my investigations {M.L..V. XVIII, 98 f.). See 
infra, and notes to separate riddles. 

t Dietrich's treatment of the connection between the poems of our collection 
and popular riddles is confined to a single paragraph {XI, 457-45S) and must be 
supplemented at every point (see my article in J/. L.N. XVIII, 98 f., my discus- 
sion infra, and the notes to the several problems). % Bcr. d. s. G., p. 29. 

§ Koinposition luui Quellen der Rdtsel des Exeterbiiches. Paderborn, 18S3. 

IIP. 158. 



ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES xxxix 

alone.' But, according to Prehn, our author frequently builds up his rid- 
dle by suggestions and plunderings from more than one author : he thus 
employs Symphosius and Aldhelm six times, Symphosius and Tatwine 
twice, Aldhelm and Tatwine once, Aldhelm and Eusebius four times, 
Aldhelm, Tatwine, and Eusebius three times, but never Tatwine and 
Eusebius alone together. Sometimes he employs more than one riddle 
of the same author : he thus uses Symphosius twice and Aldhelm once.* 
Against these results of Prehn's too fruitful source-hunt there have been 
more than one protest from scholars. Zupitza,t a year later, took issue 
with Prehn's conclusions of wholesale borrowings from learned sources, 
and affirmed his belief in the popular origin of many Exeter Book puz- 
zles. Holthaus % also thinks that Prehn has failed to establish the great 
dependence of the Anglo-Saxon riddles. He points to the popularity of 
such compositions among monks and laymen. The number of universally 
known riddles was far larger than those extant ; and these, in form and 
expression, were naturally much alike. Only the true poets gave them a 
new dress. Regarding the vogue of this riddle-material, he believes, as 
does Ten Brink of the epic, § that ' the product of poetic activity was not 
the possession, the performance, of an individual but of the community.' 
Other arguments of Holthaus will be considered later. So Herzfeld || 
declares that ' in the case of the Exeter Book Riddles one cannot speak 
of a constantly close adherence to definite models. Previous investiga- 
tions If show that some few of these are literal translations of the Latin, 
others are related to the Latin riddles only in single traits and turns of 
thought, while the majority have their roots in popular tradition, from 
which the poets of both the Latin and the Old English riddles have 
drawn independently.' 

Brooke ** quotes the whole of Aldhelm "s riddle De Luscinia side by 
side with Rid. 9, ' in order to confound those who say that Cynewulf in 
his Riddles is a mere imitator of the Latin. In the Latin there is not a 
trace of imagination, of creation. In the English both are clear. In the 

*Even in cases where Prehn is unable to demonstrate borrowing, he declares 
(p. 269) : ' Indessen beschrankt sich ihre Selbstandigkeit nur auf die Wahl der 
Stoffe, wahrend der Inhalt dieselben typischen Ziige aufweist, welche wir bei den 
Vorbildern kennen gelernt haben.' t Deutsche Littztg., 1884, p. 872. 

X Atiglia VII, Anz. 124. § GeschicJite iter Eiigt. IJtt., p. 17. || Pp. 26-27. 

IT Herzfeld compares J. H. Kirkland, ./ Stinty of ttie Anglo-Saxoti Poetii, Ttie 
I/arrmviiig of Ilelt, Halle, 1S85, pp. 25 f. But in what respect this reference es- 
tablishes large results, I fail to see. ** E. E. Lit., p. 149, footnote. 



xl INTRODUCTION 

one a scholar is at play, in the other a poet is making. Almost every 
riddle, the subject of which Cynewulf took from Aldhelm, Symphosius or 
Eusebius, is as little really imitated as that. Even the Riddle De Crea- 
tiira, the most closely followed of them all, is continually altered towards 
imaginative work.' 

Erlemann * discusses the close relation of the Riddles to the Latin 
enigmas of the early eighth century. ' All of these enigmatographs, 
Aldhelm, Tatwine, and Eusebius, were contemporaries of Bede ; and, as 
Hahn has shown,! Eusebius is identical with Hwaetbert-Eusebius, Abbot 
of Wearmouth, to whom Bede submitted his work of 727, De Temporum 
Ratione. The Anglo-Saxon poet [so Erlemann] knew all the Latin collec- 
tions of riddles and employed Eusebius in particular. There is no small 
probability that the Anglo-Saxon poet, through school instruction, was 
familiar with the works of Bede as well as with the riddle-poems of 
Eusebius, Tatwine, and Aldhelm. It is indeed possible that he obtained 
his scholarly training in one of the monasteries Wearmouth and Jarrow.' 
Erlemann believes that this aids us in fixing the date of our collection. 
Eusebius employed the riddle-collection of Tat\vine^ which falls in 732 ; 
and therefore composed between that date and the middle of the forties 
when he died. His sixty enigmas probably supplement Tatwine's forty, 
so they are close to them in time. Now, if the Anglo-Saxon problems 
are due to the awakened interest in riddles, they may be placed between 
732 and 740, in any case before 750, in Northumbria — the time and 
place to which Sie\ers and Madert (i)ifrd) would assign them. But all 
these arguments fall to the ground if we den)- direct literar\' connection 
with Tatwine and Eusebius. 

Let us now examine the riddles. In the four riddles that owe most to 
the collection of Symphosius, Rid. 48. 61, 85, 86, the relation is not 
nearh' as close as that of Rid. 36, 41, to Aldhelm. It is certainlv not 
correct to sav with Herzfeld % that to each line of Svmphosius 16, 
Tinea, two lines of Rid. 48 correspond. The six lines of the English 
version represent a \er\' unfortunate expansion, in which the answer is 
betrayed at the outset, no new ideas except that of the holiness of the 
book are added, and the sharp contrasts of the Latin are sacrificed. 
The three motives of the ' Arundo ' enigma of Symphosius (No. 2) are 
admirably developed in the seventeen lines of Rid. 61, as Dietrich has 

* Ilerrigs Arclin' CXI (1903), 5S. 

t Forsc/i. zii cictitsch. Gesch. XXVI. 597. % P. 29. 



ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES xli 

shown in parallel columns.* Here the Latin simplv suggests. Rid. 85 
follows only in its first lines the ' Flumen et Piscis ' problem (Sym. 12) : 
the remainder of the short poem is an independent development in which 
new motives are added. ( )nly the second line of the Symphosius enigma 
Litsctix a II ill in teueiis (No. 94) is used in the monster-riddle of seven 
lines {^Kid. 86) which thus lavishly employs the hint. The four English 
riddles, though somewhat dissimilar in method of borrowing, resemble 
each other in free handling of sources ; Nos. 85 and 86. in the manner 
of development from a suggestion in the original ; Nos. 48 and 85, in 
the introduction of Christian elements. But the treatment of sources 
differs entirely from that in the .small Aldhelm group {Rid. 36, 41), where 
the Latin (A. vi, 3, and De Creatura) is closely followed (Notes). 

A dozen riddles employ motives of Symphosius and Aldhelm in such 
fashion as to suggest direct borrowing from the Latin enigmas. f In Rid. 
10 the riddler gives evidence of his use of Symphosius 100 (not in Riese) 
in his description of the desertion of the cuckoo by parents before birth 
and its adoption by another mother ; but the added motive of the cuckoo's 
ingratitude, as indeed the whole treatment, shows an intimate acquaint- 
ance with the folk-lore of the time. The three motives of Symphosius 
61 appear in the 'Anchor' riddle {Rid. 17), but only the second is so 
closely follow'ed as to indicate actual indebtedness. The leitmotif oi Sym- 
phosius 73 is not introduced into the ' Bellows ' riddle, Rid. 38, until its 
fifth line, and then, after receiving a three-line treatment, is dismissed by 
the popular motive that closes the problem : in the second fragmentary 
version of the English riddle {Rid. 87) the Symphosius theme is not 
reached. The two closing lines of Rid. 66 (compare 26), ' Onion,' seem 
to be verballv indebted to the ' Cepa ' enigma of Symphosius (No. 44), 
but this ' biter bitten ' motive is a commonplace of riddle-poetry and well 
known to contemporary enigmatographs. 

A motive from Aldhelm v, 3, and yet another from v, 9, seem to be the 
sources of .several lines of Rid. 27. ' Book ' ; and Aldhelm v. 3, and iv, i, 
suggest the striking themes of Rid. 52, ' Pen ' ; but in both English rid- 
dles we are dealing with the common property of very many enigmas 
of that day. Rid. 13 and 39, ' Young Ox," may claim as analogues 
not only Aldhelm iii, 1 1 ; v, 8, and Symphosius 56, but many other Latin 

*XI, 45^- 

t Rut. 10 (S. 100); 17 (S. 61); 38 (S. 73); 66 (S. 44); 27 (A. V, 3, 9) ; 52 (A, v, 3; 
iv, i); 37 (A. vi, 10); 13, 39 (A. iii, 11; v, S; S. 56); 50 (A. ii, 14); 64 (A. vi, 9). 



xlii INTRODUCTION 

riddles of the time ; and the two English ])roblems cling to the tradi- 
tional motives, but with a certain freedom of literary treatment. Kid. 50, 
' Bookcase,' is connected through its last lines, and particularly through 
the word iimvita (11 a), with Aldhelm ii, 14^"', Ana Libra na\ but it 
is notew'orthy that this is the ver)- motive which we meet in the ' Book- 
moth ' problem (Sym. 1 6 ; Kid. 48'^"'^). Kid. 64 owes its ruling idea to 
Aldhelm vi, 9^"^ though it is no slavish copy of the Latin theme, ' the 
kiss of the wine-cup,' which ap]:iears not only in Anglo-Latin riddles 
{supra) but in the modern PJiglish Holme riddle. No. 128. Aldhelm's 
' Water ' enigmas, iii, i and especially iv, 1 4, are freely followed in their 
main outlines by the writer of Kid. 84 ; but that long poem during its 
larger part declares its independence of I^atin sources. To summarize, 
the motives of the Latin enigmas are so widely diffused throughout riddle- 
poetry, and moreover these themes are so freel\- handled in the English 
versions, that it is impossible to deduce any but the most general con- 
clusion regarding either relation to sources or the identity of the author. 
Only this much may be safely said: that the English riddles just con- 
sidered are alike in combining a certain dependence in their leading 
ideas with originality of expression and freedom of development. 

\'et another group of riddles bear to Svmphosius and .Mdhelm only a 
very slight resemblance — perhaps in a single phrase or line — • so slight 
indeed that the likeness may often be accidental or else produced by 
identity of topic* Edmund Erlemann has pointed out t that the 
' Storm ' riddles, Kid. 2-4, are indebted for one of their central ideas, 
not to Aldhelm's line (i, 2^) ' Cernere me nulli possunt nee prendere 
palmis,' which appears in both the Bern Riddles and Bede's Flares 
{supra), but to the scriptural sources of this (see Notes) ; and I regard 
the other alleged parallels of Prehn % as very natural coincidences. The 
resemblance between Kid. 6 and Aldhelm iv, 13, Ciypcus, is very slight 
and the mere outcome of a common theme : each shield speaks of its 
wounds. It is barely possible that the author of Kid. 9 owed some- 
thing to Aldhelm's ' Luscinia ' enigma (ii, 5), but I do not believe that 
the Anglo-Saxon poet had the nightingale in mind. It is a far cry from 
Aldhelm's Favifaluca (iv, 11) to the 'Barnacle Goose' of Kid. 11 ; so 

* Rid. 2-4 (A. i, 2); 6 (A. iv, 13); 9 (A. ii, 5); 11 (A. iv, 11); 12 (A. xii, 9); 
21 (A. iv, 10) ; 28 (A. vi, 9) ; 29 (A. vii, 2) ; 35 (S. 60) ; 49, 60 (A. vi, 4) ; 54 (A. 
V, S) ; 57 (S. 17 ; A. iv, 3, 7) ; 58 (A. vi, i) ; 71 (A. iv, lo) ; 73 (A. vi, 8) ; 83 (S. 
91); 91 (S. 4). ^ Her7-igs Arckiv CXI, 55. \ Pp. 159-163. 



ork;inals and analogues xliii 

the likeness between the opening lines of the two, which is very slight, 
is obviously accidental. There is certainly a resemblance between a sin- 
gle passage in Aldhelm's ' Nox ' enigma (xii, g) and Rid. 12''^; but 
this is not sufficient to establish any direct connection between the Latin 
and the Anglo-Saxon. Kid. 21, 'Sword,' is developed in a totally dif- 
ferent fashion from Aldhelm's enigma (iv, 10) on the same topic; any 
parallels of thought — and these are few — are inherent in the subject. 
The motive of 'wine, the overthrower ' (Aldhelm vi, 9'), which also ap- 
pears in Rid. 28, is found not only in other Latin enigmas of the time 
(MS. Bern. 611, No. 63^""), but in folk-riddles remote from learned 
sources (see Notes). As the companion piece, Rid. 29, bears in two 
of its motives a general likeness to Aldhelm vii, 2, it is possible that 
the Latin may have been consulted by the author of these bibulous 
problems, but it is difficult to see how his themes could have been de- 
veloped without mention of these traits. The slight likeness between 
the ' Rake ' riddle (Rid. 35) and Symphosius 60, Serra, may easily be 
explained by the demands of similar subjects. Dietrich * finds the germ 
oiRid. 49, 60, in Aldhelm vi, 4, De Crisniale; but the likeness, being 
practically limited to the ' red gold ' of both the Latin and English ves- 
sels, and consequently an inevitable result of identity of themes, is not 
irreconcilable with complete independence. Only in two lines of Rid. 
54, ' Battering-ram,' is found any analogue to Aldhelm v, 8, which has 
a far different purpose, — a pun upon ' Aries.' The ' Loom ' riddle. Rid. 
57, bears only a very faint resemblance to the enigmas of Symphosius 
(No. 17) and Aldhelm (iv, 3, 7): like subjects could hardly be treated 
with greater difference of method. Rid. 58 has certainly two traits in 
common with Aldhelm vi, i ; but no descriptions of the ' Swallow ' could 
fail to mention its wood-haunts and its garrulous note. The origin 
of the 'Sword' or 'Dagger' {Rid. 71""^) recalls Aldhelm iv, 10^, De 
Pugione ; but the two enigmas are of very diverse sort. The ' Lance ' 
riddle {Rid. 73) surely owes little to Aldhelm (vi, 8) in the picture of 
its origin and its delight in battle. The general likeness in riddle-motive 
— change of condition by fire — between Rid. 83 and Symphosius g i 
may well arise from the demands of the topic, ' Ore.' And, finally, there 
is but a dim suggestion of the lively metaphors of Rid. 91, ' Ke}-,' in the 
bald ' Clavis ' enigma of Symphosius (No. 4), which simply states the 
subject's sj^here of action. Li none of the twenty riddles just considered 

* XI, 474. 



xliv IN I'KDDi r ru)N 

is it possililr to rsl.ililisli ilurrt litn.ii \' lomu'ilioii w itl\ tin- I ,,itin (.Muunias. 
In tlu' iiUTi'dm;', jMi'iip, |u>|iiil,ii ti.insmissinn ol molivi's, in this, like 
ronilituMis nl luninuiii siil>|rrls, j;(> l.ir tmv.iuls i-xi'l.unm;^ .ill H'sriu 
l)|,inri-s. 111 oilu'i inKlK's th.it licit llir s.inu- tlu'iiu-s .is llir I,.itiii 
riiij'jn.is, r\rn this t.imi liknu-ss is l.u'kiiij;.* 

I h.ur .ihr.uU irjMstou'd m\ piKlrst )' ai;ainst tht,- il.iiins oi T.itwiiu' 
.uul I'lisrhius .IS nrilitois <>l tin- /■'.w/ir />'('('/• A'/(/(//(\. In .i low i.iscs 1 
iiolui' .1 u'snuhl.iiu'i' Ih-Iwih-m ihr A'/,A//<s .iiul tlu'sr l.itiii riii^in.is. :|: 
\\-[ 111 ,ill tlu-sr, rMrpI A'/./. 15 .uul 44, tin- l''.n_i;lish ,iiul 1 ,itin writers 
.lu- hotli woikin:-, with iiintiM's rmplowil not oiiK In S\ luphosius or 
AKlhrliii, hut 1>\ otlur r.iiK riii!;iii.ito;;r.iphs whoso iliiwt (.oiinrction 
with r.iiwiiu' .uul I'usrhius is iiiou- th.ui ilouhtlul.§ I'lu- • I loin' riiUlIc 
[A'i,/. 15,^ h.is 111 ot>iiinion with I'lisohius _^o its liist thought, whioh is rc- 
[hmIihI 111 ilillru'iit lorm in A'/./. 88 i^conti.ist howA"\rr No. 15's i.oin|).iiiion 
piooi', AV</. 80. which iloos not n-K-i to tlu- I loin's origin) ; aiul llu' ' Hoilv 
and Soul' pioliU'iu t^AVy. 44") is strikini;l\ ililtciviU in nu>ti\c from l'".uso- 
hius's tiiMlnu'iil ot tlu- s.imo tamili.u tlu'HK' t^No. J5\ I cmnol thore- 
t'oic ai;rt.\> with l-'ln-il .uul rrohn t^/'./.ov///') th.U these Anglo-l..itin (.■nij;iHas 
iuIUkmuxhI tho Auijlo S.ixon in nuitli-i ,iiul lonn. 



\n intoiostin;; pl.u'o .11110111; (,'ii;hlli ocnluiA l.uin (.'nimiuis is oivupicd 
In tlu- twoniN liiKlK" iHH'uis ol the i;i\Mt mission. uv bishop l>onit'.iiv. || 
lieu- the luKlle h.is t.iken o\\ .1 purelv Christian and llK\^loi;ieal eharae- 
ter. I'l'u viees and ten \iitues personit'v ami eharaeteri/e themselves 

* AV./, 7 ^A. \iii, ; J4 ^S. i«>^ ; 33 (S, 1;,) ; 34 ^,^. lo) ; 59 ^S. 71, ~ :). 

f .lA /. .\. Will, o». 

t A'/.;'. 15 (V. ;ol ; i\ (V. ;,o, V.. ;i>h ij (V. 5. t> ; K. .u. ;>-^ ; 39 O'"- ,r^ : 44 
(V. :.); 5 J [V. (.'. K. .;,0 : 84 ^K. -.0- 

§ llollh.uis (.//.J,.;,.- \'ll. .t'::. \ : •,) s.ivs \oiy s.uu-h : ' Kosoiuli-ts in don Fallon 
\\>' I'nim AUnliohkoiU-n ilci oniilisolvon Riitsel niit .'woi odor t.lnn Kitoinischon 
l>ii liu-m n.u'lnvfisl, waion wii };onoij;t n'uht .m unmittolh.uo Mntloluumj; /u denken 
soiuKin /n i;l.uibon d.vss sowol dio liogonstando. wie auch dio Art dev Hetnoh- 
tun;^ l'unu'ini;iit ilos \olkos gowiMvU-n \v,u \ind soniit ^ler IMclvter nm bekanntes 
.iu(\;onvnunuMi h.ilU\ aboi os dooh oigonaitij; \vioderi;alv' 'rius view is certainly 
siipiHMlovl hv the Ukcncssos toUu- latinin tin- Kuglish riddles of ' rnH^k," ' (.">x,' and 
■Pen' (A'l^i. 37, 39. 5a): tliese tuits .ue coiwnuMiplaces in early enigmas (.f/z/^w), 

II Nine of these were ininted by \Yris;ht. />'/.•<•. />'<//. //A I. 33-". from the in 
con\plete version in MS. Royal 15, 1>. \l\, f. 20.\ r. later the conrplete collection 
w.vs |nd>lished by Innk. A">r/<^«^^v^ />ii\,fSiiH-.-tn/tt; 111 (iSl'v^"). -■;,-", and by Pumni- 
lei. /•.\.'.;i- /.;A ( \.v ,•///// etc. (.lA-//. ///.>/. (,>>/«.). I (iSSO, 1 f. 



OKICINALS AND AN Al.()( ;i f I'lS xlv 

like iIk' hi'asls aiul birds ol' llir i>U\cv t'liii^inas. * ( 'aiilas, Mdcs ( 'alho- 
lica, Spt's, jiislilia, N'critus, Miscrii-oi'dia, ralicnlia, Tax ( 'Inisliaiia, 
llumilitas ( 'liiisliaiia, Virg'inilas, olTscl (he IVaillirs of ('upidilas, SiiptT- 
bia, ("rapiila (lulai-, l'',biictas, laixuria, liuidia, l,i;ii()iaiilia, \'ana (iloiia, 
Nt.'<;li<^cntia, and Iracundia. 'Hit'se allcj^orical cnij^iuas air iiiliodiircd by 
a dedication to his ' sisU'i,' (hr Alilxvss of liischofsbt'iin Iwcnlv hi'x- 
amc'tcrs, in whiib Uu- viitiU'S aiv conipaicd lo (br golden apples of ibc 
trcr of life, die ( 'ross of ( 'liiisi, Hu- vices to the bitter fi'iiil of \\\r lice of 
which Adam ale. IIh- whole loinposcs 388 hexameters, and the several 
poems an- of \ar\inj;' leiinlh. 

'I'he acrostic employed by bolb Aldhdm and Tatwine is here used for 
purposes of solution. 'I"he subji'd of ( at b t'liii^nia is plainlv indicalt'd 1)\- 
die initial k-llns of its liiu's. iUil itoniiace ;^oc's farlher diaii diis. W'idi 
his well-known b)ndness bir pla\in^' upon nanu-s,t be introduces inlo 
his first eni<;nia a double at-rostic, (•, s, </, a, /•, t, /, i, /, r, </, a, \, c, thus sport- 
ing rather lu'avib' with the Latin e(|ui\alenl of the naiiif of tlu' Abbess, 
Liofa or ]veol)<;vlh.:|: llere then is a parallel lor tho.se who claim (bat 
the ////>//.\- of the Latin riddle { A'/W. 90) refers to the name of ('vnewull. 

As I'.bert has pointed out, these t'lii^mas ha\'c but small literai\- meiil. 
Their vocabulary is small, their meter halting;', the treatment stiff and 
awkward. 'I"he traits of his abstractions are seldom si^nilicant. Written 
in (It'iinaiu' (I. ,v,^), die poems, particularly those upon Ignorance ol 
God and I )runkenness, ^ivt.' forth now and dien a j^leam of a|)ostolic 
fire; but in the main thev set'in dull and uninspiri-d. 

]!ock has, I think, fxa^'^'crated their indeblednrss to Aldbelm, which 
is slij^ht ; § and 1 discover in them no li.ux' ol 'ralvvine or ol Liisebius. 
The influence of Virj^il's .-l/y/r/i/, uliicb affected bis sl\le, as it did (bat 
of his coiiU'mporaries, was not slronj;' enough to lift bis moiali/in^s into 
the rej;ion of poeliw I see in these didactic hexamclc-rs nothing' that con- 
nects them e\tn lemoleb with the spirited riddles ol the li.xctcr Ihok.\ 

* I-:i)crl, /.//. ,lcs Mill, im Ahciidl. T (iSS^), 653. 

t Compare Iluhn, /uwi/tiz nml l.iil, nSS;,, j). 2.|2; ]'",walcl, Neiicr Arc/tivYll, 196; 
and my notes to A'/V/. 90 {infra). \ See Maniliiis, C/iri.s-l/. Lat. Poesic, p. 507. 

§The .tpifiila lita veiteiio v,[ tiie IntioducliDii ])r)iiils In liic last .section of Ald- 
lielm'.s poetic tract /A* Octo I'riinip. niii.s, 1 50, and (cilaiii lines in the ' Lu.xuiy ' 
enigma (No. 15) to the Cnuilinui, 31, 53. ISiil I lind liltlr nmic iIkih dial. Mani- 
tius, Chrisll. /.nl. Poesic, p. 506, notes that for his j^eiicial niolivi-s l!(jnilace is in- 
debted to I'rudentius's Psychomachia and to Aldhehn's Pc /.(ii/dihii.s- Viri;i/iittn. 

II Contrast Boniface's picture of ICbrictas with the dclighlful },'enre sketch of 
the tipsiness of the 'old cliiiil ' in A'iil. 28. 



Xlvi INTRODUCTION 

Bern Riddles 

A very important group of Latin enigmas is a collection of sixty-three 
riddles preserved in several early manuscripts.* These consist of ' hexa- 
sticha rhythmica barbaric horrida ' (Riese). Hagen overrates them t in 
ranking them above the riddles of Symphosius in ' feine und gemiitliche 
Charakteristik ' ; but they are certainly not without merit ; they treat 
the common things of life with clever ingenuity. Yet in range of sub- 
jects, in power of imagination, and particularly in width and depth of 
scholarship, they are inferior to the Anglo-Latin riddles. We meet only 
one reference to the Christian-Jewish cultus (9^, ' Eua '), only one to 
classical mythology (41'', ' Macedo nee Liber . . . nee Hercules'), only 
one to history (28^, ' Caesares '). A striking trait is their originality. 
They deal often with the same themes as Symphosius (Bern 2, S. 67 ; 
B. 9, S. 51; B. 10, S. 78; B. II, S. 13; B. 13, S. 53; B. 18, S. 79 ; 
B. 32, S. 63; B. 34, S. 45 ; B. 48, S. 19; B. 58, S. 77), but in totally 
different fashion. On the two occasions when these riddles invite close 
comparison with the older enigmas, it is significant that the author is 
using motives dear to riddle tradition : ' the fish and his moving house ' 
(B. 30, S. 12) and 'the biter bitten,' ' mordeo mordentem ' (B. 37, De 
Pipen\ S. 44, De Cepii). % So in his relation to Aldhelm, he is either 
entirely independent (B. 3, A. iv, 8 ; B. 21, A. ii, 3 ; B. 45, A. i, i), or 
else he employs motives that are the common stock of riddle-poetry 
(B. 6, A. vi, 9, De Caliee\ B. 23, A. v, 10, De Jgne\ B. 24, A. v, 9, 
De Alembrana \ B. 25, A. iv, i, De Litteris). Yet the sequence of 
these riddles (B. 23, 24, 25), and certain likenesses in phraseology, § 

*As early as 1839, Mone edited a version of these from Vienna MS. 67 in 
Anzeiger fiir Kunde dcr dcittsclieii Vo7-zeit VIII, 2i9f. In 1869 Hagen produced 
in Riese's Anthologia Latiiui I, 296, tliirty-five'of these enigmas from a manu- 
script of eighth to ninth century, Bern 611, f. 73r.-8ov. The next year Riese, 
in the second volume of his Anthology (p. Ixvi), showed the identity of the Vienna 
and Bern enigmas, and derived variants from Mone's text. Finally, in the last 
edition of the Anthology (1894, pp. 351-370) Riese collated with the already 
published manuscripts three other versions, Lipsiensis Rep. I, 74 of ninth to 
tenth century, f. i5v.-24r., and two Paris MSS. of the ninth century, 5596 and 
8071 (each containing a few enigmas). For a discussion of this group of enigmas, 
cf. Hagen, Aiitikc und Mitteldlterliche Rdtselpoesie, 1877, pp. 26, 46. t P. 46. 

X For the vogue of these two riddles, see M. L. N. XVIII, 3, 5, XXI, loi, and 
my notes to Rid. 85, 66. Other world-riddles are those of the Ice (B. 38) and 
the Rose (B. 34). § Cf. Manitius, Aldhelm und Baeda, pp. 79-82. 



ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES xlvii 

undoubtedly suggest a direct literary connection.* Ebert and Manitius 
seem to mc to exaggerate greatly the resemblances between the Bern 
enigmas and those of I'atwine and Eusebius ; and therefore to be totally 
unjustified in their conclusion that the former is one of the sources of 
the latter. Indeed, in all cases of alleged resemblance save one, the 
enigmatographs are drawing upon common stores of riddle-tradition 
(B. 2, E. 28, compare A. v, i, Sym. 67, Lorsch 10 ; B. 24, E. 31, T. 5, 
compare A. v, 9 ; B. 25, T. 4, E. 7, compare A. iv, i) ; and even under 
these conditions the likenesses are very slight, never amounting to any- 
thing more than general parallels of motive. Bern No. 5 has much in 
common with Tatwine No. 29, De Mensa,'\ but even this likeness may 
be explained by the restricted demands of the topic. There is, however, 
no dotibt that the Bern enigmas belong to the same circle of thought 
as the Anglo-Latin problems ; and, although no English manuscript of 
them exists, we are not surprised to find them followed by riddles of Aid- 
helm in Paris MS. 5596. Yet, whatever may be the probability, we have 
no convincing evidence that they are from the hand of an English author. 

Lorsch Riddles 

A small but valuable group of enigmas is the collection of twelve 
Latin riddles of varying lengths, in poor hexameters, preserved in the 
ninth century Vatican MS. Palatinus 1753, which was brought from 
the famous monastery of Lorsch. % It has a twofold connection with 
the Latin enigmas of England. In the manuscript it appears in close 
company with the riddles of Symphosius and Aldhelm, the Prosody of 
Boniface, and the epitaph of a priest, Domberht, one of that band of 
scholars which came to Germany with Boniface ; § and Diimmler is in- 
clined to believe that our group of twelve problems was brought over 
from England with the remaining contents of the manuscript. Ebert || 
goes even farther, and claims that the riddles were composed in Eng- 
land, since their author is indebted not only to Aldhelm, whose works 
were widely known on the continent, but to Tatwine and Eusebius. The 

* Manitius goes too far {C/iristl. Lat. Poesie, pp. 488-4S9) in regarding these as 
the chief source of Aldhelm's enigmas ; and he gives no reason for attributing them 
to an Irishman of the sixth and seventh centuries. t Cf. Ebert, p. 39. 

\ These riddles were printed by Diimmler in Ilaupts Zs. XXII, 258-263, dis- 
cussed by Ebert, ib. XXIII, 200-202, and included by Diimmler in his Poetae 
Latini Aevi CaroUiii (Mon. Hist. Germ.), Berlin, 1S81, pp. 20 f. 

%/7aup(s Zs. XXII, 262. ' II Ib. XXIII, 200. 



xlviii INTRODUCTION 

Lorsch riddle No. 9, Peii/ia. is, Ebert thinks, merely a compilation of 
three enigmas, Aldhclm v, 3,'rat\vine 6, and Eusebius 35. If the verbal 
resemblances were not so strong, we might infer a common debt to the 
folk, as the motives of ' the weeping pen ' and ' black seed in a white 
field' are commonplaces of riddle-poetry.* Lorsch No. 11, Bos, is in- 
debted to Aldhelm iii, 11, and perhaps to Eusebius 37 ; but again we 
have motives universally known among the Anglo-Saxons, f The paral- 
lels given by Manitius % are, as usual, strained. Although ' the" kiss of the 
wine-cup ' is a common motive, § yet the verbal likenesses of Lorsch 
No. 5, Pocuhim ct Vi/iinn, to Aldhelm vi, 9 and Tatwine 4" are so strong 
as to convince us of direct literary connection. In Lorsch No. 4, G/tfdes, 
we meet a world-old motive, || which the author certainly did not deri\e 
from Tatwine 1 5 . But he is undoubtedly employing Aldhelm v, i in 
No. 10, Liicrnia, and A. i, 2'' in No. 2", ' et rura peragro.' Diimmler and 
Ebert are justified in assigning to these problems an English home. Two 
other slight links bind the Lorsch enigmas to England : in No. 8 appears 
the moti\ e of ' pen, glove, and fingers ' of Bede's Flares and Rid. 14, 
and in No. 7 the famous ' Castanea ' logogriph, so frequent in English 
manuscripts of the Middle Ages ; H but both motives are found on the 
continent as well. 

Pseudo-Bede 

Riddles of the Bede tradition are represented by three interesting 
groups of problems.** Among the works doubtfully attributed to the 
Venerable scholar, the so-called FIorcs'\'\ holds a place of some note. This 
varied assortment of queries falls roughly into three divisions, (i) The 
first and by far the largest of these belongs to dialogue literature {supra) 
and has much in common with other well-known groups of knowledge- 
tests. (2) The second class of problems consists of direct citation of 

*Cf. my articles. Mod. Phil. II, 563 ; J/. /.. X. XXI, 102 ; and notes to Rid. 52 
{infra). t J/. /.. .\". XXIII, 99. | Pp. 79-S2. 

§ Notes to Rid. 64 {infra). \\ Notes to Rid. 34. \ M. L. X. XVIII, 7. 

** These have been discussed by me in Mod. Phil. II, 1905, 561 f. I condense 
that discussion here. 

tt The full title of this melange is Excerptiones Patriim, collectanea, flores ex 
d!7'ersis, qiiaestiones et parabolae. Included in the Basel edition of Bede's Opera 
of 1563 and in the Cologne edition of 161 2, the Flares was reprinted partially 
and incorrectly from the second in Kemble's Salomon and Saturn (1S48), pp. 322- 
326, but appears in complete and accurate form in Aligne's Patroloi^ia Latina 
(1850), XC, 539. 



ORI(]INALS AND ANALOGUES xlix 

famous Latin enigmas. I''ive riddles from S}'mphosius ( i , 7 , 4, 11, 10) 
and five from Aldliclm (i, 3, 10, 2, 4, 1 1 ) * are quoted in full. (3) There 
remain a dozen riddles rich in popular motives and abounding in ana- 
logues.! The first reappears among the queries of St. Gall MS. No. 196 
of the tenth century ; $ the second is paralleled by ' Fingers ' enigmas of 
St. Gall and Lorsch (No. 8) ; the fifth is indebted to the first line of Aid- 
helm's ' Ventus ' problem (i, 2); the seventh is the world-riddle of Ice; 
the eighth contains the Ox motive, common property of all the riddle- 
groups of the Anglo-Saxon period ; the ninth is the embryo of the uni- 
versal riddle of ' Two-legs and three-legs ' ; § the explanation of the tenth 
lies in the ' Pullus ' and ' Ovum ' problems of Symphosius, No. 1 4, Euse- 
bius, No. 38, and MS. Bern. 611, No. 8 ; the eleventh appears in the 
Disputatio Pippini cum Albino || and the St. Gall MS. ; the twelfth query 
can be compared with the close of Aldhelm's octostich Dc Penna Scrip- 
toria (v, 3). This collection touches the Exeter Book Riddles at several 
points of meeting : not only in the popular motives of Fingers and Ice 
and Bull, H but in the idea of hostility between Day and Night.** 

The second group of Pseudo-Bede riddles is the Eniginata or Joco- 
seria, as I have called the puzzles of Cambridge MS. Gg. V, 35, 418 b, 
4i9a.tt This codex is of prime importance to the student of Latin 
enigmas, as it contains the riddle-groups of Symphosius, Boniface, Aid- 
helm, Tatwine, and Eusebius. Our Enigmata are attributed to Bede in 
the table of contents. Of the nineteen, a dozen may be classed as logo- 
griphs, a form of word-riddle very popular in the later Middle Ages and 
occasionally furnishing diversion before the Conquest. Mel, Os, Amor, 
Apes, Bonus, and Navis are among the puzzle-words. The ' Digiti ' query 
(xix) contains a motive not dissimilar to one used in older ' Finger ' 
enigmas. Inadequate diction, awkward syntax, incorrect grammar, and 
halting meter attest the author's literary limitations. Yet the author is 
not so important as the glossator. These enigmas are accompanied by 
an interlinear commentar}', which is unique among glosses in casting a 

*Cf. Manitius, Zii Aldhelm iind Baeda, p. 82. 
t These riddles I have printed in full in the A'lod. Phil, article. 
X Schenkl, Sitzungsberichte der Phil.-Hist. Classe der kais. Akademie der IVissen- 
schaften (Wien, 1863) XXXIV, 18. 

§ See my note to Holme Riddles, No. 50. 

II Wilmanns, Hatipts Zs. XIV, 552. 

'^ Flores, 2, 7, 8; Rid. 14, 34, 13, and 39. Compare M. L. X. XVIII, 104. 

** F/ores, 6 ; Rid. 30 (see notes). tt Edited by me. Mod. Phil. II, 565. 



1 INTRODUCTION 

powerful light upon the peculiar esteem in which art-riddles were held 
in the Anglo-Saxon time. After the manner of his kind the commenta- 
tor takes his pleasure very sadly : every line, indeed every word, of his 
author must be weighed as gravely as the phrases of Scripture or the 
rubrics of liturgy. We are thus brought to comprehend the ready wel- 
come accorded by pedantic leisure to the serio-comic products of pedantic 
scholarship, and to understand the continued vogue of these in the clois- 
ters of England. By the mediaeval reader queries which so often seem 
to us drearily dull and flat were evidently deemed miracles of ingenuity, 
inviting and repaying his utmost subtlety. 

The third group, the Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes, which are 
number-problems rather than riddles, appeared in the Basel edition of 
Bede, 1563 (p. 133), and, under protest, are included in his works in the 
Fatrologia Latina* They are not mentioned by Bede in his enumera- 
tion of his writings ; and Alcuin's editor in the Pafrologia f finds two 
good reasons for ascribing them to that scholar. They are assigned to 
him in at least one old MS., and are specifically mentioned by him 
in a letter to Charlemagne (Epistle 101): ' aliquas figuras arithmeticae 
subtilitatis causa.' These number-puzzles were for a long time popular. 
I find Alcuin's fifty-three Propositiones under our rubric in MS. Burney 
59 (eleventh century), f. 7 b-ii a, and many similar arithmetical riddles 
in MS. Cott. Cleop. B. IX (fourteenth century), f. i7b-2ia. Alcuin's 
river-crossing problem (No. 18), ' De homine et capra et lupo,' is found, 
somewhat modified, in later English and continental MSS.I This group, 
which I discuss for the sake of completeness, presents, of course, no 
analogues to the Exeter Book Riddles. 

Interesting analogues to the Exeter Book enigmas are found in the 
Anglo-Latin prose queries of St. Gall MS. 196 (tenth century), § in the 
solitary 'Bull' query of Brit. Mus. MS. Burney 59 (eleventh century), 
f. lib, II and in the unique Anglo-Saxon relationship riddle of MS. 
Vitellius E. XVIII, i6b."l[ But our poems have no connection, either 
direct or indirect, with the enigmatic J^crsus Scoti de Alfabeto, a series 

* P.L. XC, 655. lib. CI, 1 143. 

\ MS. Sloane 1489 (seventeenth century), f. 16, unpublished; MS. Reims 743 
(fourteenth century), Mone, Aiiz. VII, 45, No. 105 ; MS. Argentoratensis, Sem. 
c. 14, 15 (eleventh century), f. 176, Ilaiipts Zs. XVI, p. 323. 

§ Edited by Schenkl (Wien, 1863) and discussed by me under Florcs {siifra). 
See notes to Rid. 14. 

II Quoted in full, notes to J\id. 13. Tf See notes to J\id. 44^*. 



ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES li 

of skillful hexameters, in which an Irish riddler, — a contemporary of 
Aldhelm, — taking Symphosius as his guide, has told the story of the 
Letters.* 

Folk-Riddles 

Let us now consider the use of popular material in the Exeter Book 
Riddles. We pass at once to those riddles which, in their form and 
substance, are so evidently popular products as to suggest that the poet 
has yielded in large measure to the collector — the puzzles of double 
meaning, and coarse suggestion. To these we should naturally expect 
to find many parallels in folk-literature, and we are not disappointed.! 
Again, it is probable that the motives of such ' world-riddles ' as those of 
the Month (No. 23), Ice (No. 34 ), Bullock (Nos. 13, 39), and Lot's Wife 
(No. 47), were derived not from a literary source but from tradition ; 
and the same may be true of such wide-spread themes as the ingrati- 
tude of the Cuckoo (No. 10), the food of the Bookmoth (No. 48), the 
bite of the Onion (No. 66), and the running of Flood and Fish (No. 85), 
even though these four motives are prominertt among the enigmas of 
Symphosius {supra). Analogues seem to show that certain leading ideas 
in the riddles of Fingers and Gloves (No. 14), Pen and Fingers (No. 
52), Moon (Nos. 30, 40 ?, 95), Ram, and Lance (Nos. 54 and 73) were 
traditional, t Barnacle Goose (No. 11) and Siren (No. 74) belong to the 
folk-lore of riddlers. 

Not only in those riddles that bear in form and style the distinct im- 
press of the folk do we find popular elements. Many enigmas of the 
Exeter Book — literary' though their manner proclaims them — are in- 
debted to that stock of commonplace domestic traditions, that simple 
lore of little things, which we recognize as the joint property of kindred 
races. Though the Anglo-Saxon puzzles are often entirely individual 
and isolated in their treatment of familar themes, yet the likeness of 
their motives to those of other Germanic queries is surely as remarkable 
as their differences. Let us compare these problems of early England 

* These are preserved in company with .the enigmas of Tatwine and Eusebius 
in the Cambridge MS. Gg. V, 35, and in Brit. Mus. MS. Royal 12, C. XXIII, and 
are printed in Wright and Halliwell's Reliquiae Antiquae I, 164, and by L. Midler, 
Rliein. Mus. XX, 357 (XXII, 500). For a full discussion of these see liiicheler, 
Rhein. Mus. XXXVI, 340, and Manitius, Christ. Lai. Poesie, pp. 484-4S5. 

t For analogues to Rid. 26, 45, 46, 55, 64, see J/. L. X. XVIII, 103, and the 
notes to the several riddles. \ Cf. notes to each of these. 



lii INTRODUCTION 

with those of Scandinavia. Heusler has invited attention to the corre- 
spondences between the themes and motives of the Exder Book and of 
the Heidreks Gdtur\ but these parallels are surprisingly slight. Several 
riddles of the two groups treat the same topics, but in a totally differ- 
ent fashion.* With the modern folk-nddles of the Jsle?izkar Gatiir our 
problems yield an interesting comparison. Rid. 27 (' Book '), 33 (' Ship '), 
35 (' Rake ')- 38 and 87 (' Bellows '), 57 ( ' Web and Loom '), and 68 
(' P)ible ') mav be annotated throughout by various Icelandic riddles of 
like subjects. t On the whole the likeness between the queries of the 
two groups is too general to betray any very intimate connection ; but 
the appearance of such similar elements in the Islenzkar Gatitr furnishes 
no slight proof of the popular character of Exeter Book riddle-germs. 
I add a few continental parallels to the queries in our collection. The 
fearfully-made creatures in the Anglo-Saxon poems of musical instru- 
ments (Nos. 32, 70) are not unlike the prodigies in the Lithuanian and 
Mecklenburg Geige riddles X ; the Onion of Rid. 66 is ' a biter when 
bitten ' as in the German riddle § ; the Communion Oup of Rid. 60 is 
closely akin to the subject of the Tyrolese problem || ; and finally, the 
motive of the highly imaginative query of the Ox {Rid. 72) appears again 
far afield in the riddles of Lithuania and Bukowina.H 

Among the modern folk-riddles of England the number of parallels 
to the Exeter Book Riddles is not at all large. Unlike the influence of 
Symphosius throughout Europe or the direct literary working of the 
Heidreks Gdttir in Iceland and the Earoe Islands, the motives that 
appear in the Anglo-Saxon collection, if we may draw a conclusion from 
the scanty evidence at our command, seem to have affected little the 
current of native riddle-tradition. A few English riddles of the present 
resemble in theme and treatment the Exeter Book Riddles-** and, more 
noteworthy yet, two or three of these are unicpie among recent puzzles 
in this resemblance. In the latter case we may safely regard the mod- 
ern riddle-stuff not as a new creaticMi, but as a surxival of the old. 

Enough has been said. I hope, to establish the Exeter Book problems 
in their proper place in riddle-literature. I ha\-e sought not only to 

* See J/. A. X. XVIII, 103. n. 32. t .1/. L. X. XVIII, 104 and notes. 

X Schleicher, p. 200; Wossidlo, No. 230 a. 

§ Wossidlo, No. 190; Petsch, pp. 95-96. 

II Renk, Z.v. ,/. r.f. I'k. V, 149, No. 17. 

t Schleicher, pp. 207, 211 ; Kaindl, Zs.d. /'./. T/-. VIII, 319. 

**See M. L. X. XVIII, 105-106 ; and notes to Kid. 20, 26, 28, 29, 65, 77. 88. 



AUTHORSHIP OF THE EXETER BOOK RHJDLES liii 

indicate, more accurately than has before been clone, their relation to liter- 
ary enigmas, but also to trace what has hitherto passed almost unnoticed, 
their indebtedness to popular motives. 



Ill 

AUTHORSHH^ OF THE EXETER BOOK Rn:)DLES 

The Riddles and Cynkwulf 

Any discussion of the authorship of the Riddles naturally finds its 
starting-point in Leo's interpretation of the so-called ' First Riddle.' 
Upon this I need not dwell at length, because it has already been care- 
fully considered in another volume of this series.* But it is necessary 
to indicate, more briefly than Cook and Jansen, the place of Leo's solu- 
tion in the Cynewulf story. According to that scholar's Halle Program 
of i857,t the first poem of the collection is a charade or syllable-riddle, 
whose answer is found in the name Cyne(cetie/a!/i,cr/i)-7an(f. Thence 
Leo drew the conclusion that this poet was the author of all or most of 
the problems of the Exeter Book. To Leo's solution Dietrich gave the 
full weight of his approval, t Indeed he went still farther, finding in the 
lupus of Rid. 90 yet another reference to the poet's name, and in Rid. 
95 a sketch of his vocation, that of ' Wandering Singer.' Here, he be- 
lieved, were strong grounds for attributing the whole collection to Cyne- 
wulf. For more than twenty years all scholars accepted the contentions 
of Leo and Dietrich, § with the solitary exception of Rieger, || who recog- 
nized the difficulties inherent in the solution of the ' First Riddle,' but 
offered no other answer. In an essay of 18831! Trautmann rejected 
Leo and Dietrich's answers of the first and last riddles, proposing for 
both the solution 'Riddle.' The new interpretations found less favor than 
the old,** but there were not wanting scholars who followed Trautmann 

* Cook, ' The Riddles and Cynewulf,' T/ie Christ of Cyniewjilf (1900), pp. lii- 
lix; see Jansen, -ZJ/'^ Cynewulf -Forschiuig, BB. XXIV, 93-99. 

t H. Leo, Quae de se ipso Cynewulfiis, poeta Anglo-Sax oniciis, tradiderit. 

\ Litt. Ceniralbl. (1858), p. 191 ; Ebert's /rf/^^<5. / Roi7i. iiud Eiig. Lit. I (1859), 
241 f . ; ' Die Ratsel des Exeterbuches,' Haupts Zs. XI, 448-490, XII, 232. 

§ Cook, p. ' ""'" "'"^ -'■ "94. II Zs.f d. Fh. I, 215-219. 

«rt/- ' Fdt/isel des Exetet ■, , . ,. ^^t / ^^q ,t-^ 

1 'Cyne i\, Anglta VI, Anz.^ pp. 15b- 169. 

**See {'''S' ^^''''''^' CVI (^^^^^.^ ^ ^^^^ ^^^ Hick^tier, ib., 564 f. 



liv INTRODUCTION 

in discarding this supposed proof of Cynewulfian authorship ; * and in 
an important article of 1891 t Sievers presented conclusive linguistic 
reasons for abandoning Leo's far-fetched and fanciful hypothesis. 

Three years before Sievers's essay, Bradley t advanced the view that 
' the so-called (first) riddle is not a riddle at all, but a fragment of a dra- 
matic soliloquy, 'like Divr and TAc Banished Wifes Complaitit, to the 
latter of which it bears, both in motive and in treatment, a strong re- 
semblance.' This opinion has found wide acceptance, and is almost 
certainly correct. It has been favored by Herzfeld,§ by Holthausen, || 
and by Gollancz.H Upon this hypothesis Lawrence and Schofield** built 
up their interesting and ingenious theory that the ' First Riddle ' is of 
Norse origin, and is connected with the ^'olsung Saga; and Imelmanntt 
his claim that the lyric belongs to the Odoacer story. But these theories 
are too far from the field of riddle-poetry to concern us now, and will, 
moreover, be carefully weighed in a promised edition of OhI E/iglish 
Lyrics. 

Though the ' First Riddle ' is thus unquestionabl}' a l\-rical monologue, 
I have included it in my text, not only on account of its historical associa- 
tion with the enigmas of our collection, but because of the elements of 
Kdtsel march en that render its interpretation so difficult. 

Other contributions to this phase of the association of the Riddles 
with Cynewulf are the articles of the Erlemanns,tt who have attempted 
to prove that the Latin Riddle (90) is a charade upon the poet's name 
and therefore points to Cynewulf as collector of the enigmas, and my 
evidence § § that the last of the Riddles refers neither to ' Wandering 
Singer ' nor to ' Riddle,' but, like its companion-piece Rid. 30, to the 
journeys of the Moon. 

The identification of the author of the Riddles was, however, made to 
rest on other grounds than the evidence of Rid. i and 90. In his first 
article II II Dietrich was inclined to think that the first series (1-60) was 

* Holthaus, A>tgUa VII, ,'/;/:., p. 120 ; Morley, English JTrifc-rs II, 211, 217, 222. 

t A Hglhi X III , 1 9-2 1 . XA cadetny XXXIII(i888),i97f. 

§ Die Kdtsel des Exeterlutc/ies (1S90), p. 67. || Deutsche Littztg., 1891, p. 1097. 

^ Acadefny XLIV (1S96), 572. Gollancz regards the poem as ' a life-drama in 
five acts.' **P.M.L.A. XVII (1902), 247-261, 262-295. 

ft Die Alteitglische Odoaker-Dichtiiitg, Berlin, 1907. See ^-'"Hancz, Atheniciim, 
1902, p. 551 ; Bradley, ib., p. 758. 

XX Herrigs Archiv CXI, 59; CXV, 391. See not' 

§§ M. L. .A\ XXI, 1906, 104-105. See notes to Rtd s. XI, 488, 



AUTHORSHIP OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES Iv 

by Cynewulf ; the second (61-95) by other hand or hands ; but that 
perhaps the collector of the problems of the latter group had before 
him a source which contained single riddles of Cynewulf. In his second 
article * he was led to modify this view, and to claim not only that all 
the riddles in both groups were from one hand, but that the hand was 
Cynewulf's. He went even further, and assigned, somewhat doubtfully, 
the first series to the youth of the poet and to his beginnings in riddle- 
poetry, the second to his later period. Signs of a young poet are seen 
in the first group in (i) his mistakes in translation (41®", /<?r//^.r) ; (2) 
the very youthful cadence of the verse ; (3) the obscene pieces (26, 43, 
45' 46, 55), which he conjectures to be the very poems regretted by 
Cynewulf in his supposed retractation. To the first argument it may 
be answered that we have no opportunity to compare the knowledge or 
ignorance of Latin displayed in the first group with that in the second, 
as it is only in the earlier group that we have very close translations of 
Latin enigmas (RU. 36, 41); to the second, that such a subjective esti- 
mate of verse-values so far removed from us can carry no weight ; to 
the third, that obscene problems meet us at the very threshold of the 
second series (Rid. 62, 63, 64). Dietrich seeks to sustain this ascription 
of the RidcUcs to Cynewulf by a comparison of the thoughts and ex- 
pressions of our poems with those of the Cynewulfian works ; t but it 
may be answered first with Holthaus % that the relation of the various 
riddles among themselves and to the poems of Cynewulf must be main- 
tained on more convincing grounds than in Dietrich's article, and 
secondly that the larger number of his parallels (granting that such 
parallelism carries any weight) are drawn from a text of such doubtful 
authorship as the Andreas. 

Prehn § accepts without question, as the starting-point of his investiga- 
tion, Dietrich's belief in the Cynewulfian authorship of the Riddles. The 
arguments of Herzfeld in favor of the ascription of the problems to 
Cynewulf || have now only an historical interest, as they have been 
abandoned even by Herzfeld himself. If In his earlier monograph he 
goes beyond Dietrich's contention and claims that all the Riddles are 
from the hand of a young poet, on the ground of their keen interest in 

*XII, 241, 251. 1X11,245-248. M;/^//<? VII, ^;/=., p. 122. 

§ Kotnpositioti mid Qitellen der Rdthsel des Exeterbiiches, 1883. 

II Die Rdthsel des Exeterlmches etc., 1890. 

^ Herrigs Arc/iir CVI (N. S. VI), 1901, p. 390. 



Ivi INTRODUCTION 

everything in the world, and their jo}- of life,* which does not shrink 
from naively sensuous expressions. t Another sign of youthful author- 
ship Herzfeld discovers in the large number of hapax-legomena in the 
Riddles, % because ' a voung poet is fond of choosing rare words which 
may seem to his audience new and surprising.' To show that this youth- 
ful poet is Cynewulf, Herzfeld advanced many arguments : the likeness 
of the vocabulary of the Riddles to that of the C\newulfian poems, 
among which he includes the Andreas : a similar treatment of sources ; 
a like attitude to the sea and to war, to social relations and to religion ; 
a like use of figures of speech ; and finall\-, a like handling of metrical 
types. \\'hile none of these arguments in the least convince us of Herz- 
feld's main contention, still the\' are not without illustrative value in cast- 
ing light on both the matter and the manner of the poems before us, and 
they will be cited in connection with different phases of our study. 

A year after Herzfeld's monograph (1891) Sievers discussed the age 
of the Ridd/es,i and reached the conclusion that they belong to the 
first half of the eighth century, a period anterior to the time of C"\ne- 
wulf. These are his reasons : 

(I ) • The Leiden Riddle, the Northumbrian version of J^'id. 36, con- 
tiiins many forms with unstressed /, instead of later e : — ///, bigidoncnm 
(corrupted from /lygi'doncum), gidraee, hlimmith, hrlsiL tiirdi, (T/, /leli'dinn 
(by the side of ne, giu^de, and a doubtful ierest). The change from 
unstressed / to e probably took place about 750.' || The value of this 

* This is the view of Brooke, English Lit. from the Beginning etc., 1S9S, 
pp. 160-161. 

t Herzfeld remarks, p. 9: ' Einen so offenen Blick und ein so lebendiges In- 
teresse fiir alles, das Grosste wie das Kleinste in der ihn umgebenden Welt, diese 
Lebenslust, die auch vor naiv sinnlichen Aeusserungen nicht zuriickscheut darf 
man nur bei einem jugendlichen Uichter zu finden erwarten.' (.See Dietrich XI, 
489; XII, 241 ; Fritzsche, Anglia II, 465.) 

X Herzfeld (pp. 10-12) records 262 words which occur only in the Riddles. 
Though this might seem to speak against his claims for Cynewulf, yet he noted 
that there are in the Christ 196 such words, and in the Juliana and the Fhanix, 
respectively, appear 129 and 196 new compounds. Herzfeld's results must be 
somewhat modified and increased in the light of the vocabularj' of the Riddle- 
fragments printed in Grein-Wiilker. % Anglia XIII, 15. 

II This e and / canon of date seems to me a hasty generalization based upon 
insufficient data. Indeed the very evidence derived by Sievers from Sweet's Old- 
est English Texts often refutes itself. If unstressed e appears twice in an Essex 
charter of 692 {O. E. T., p. 426), if unstressed / is found in the Northumbrian 
Genealogies of 811-S14 (O. E. T.. p. 167) in the very names {c&il- compounds) that 



AUTHORSHIP OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES Ivii 

evidence, such as it is, is lessened by the rather striking circumstance 
that KitL 36 stands apart from the other riddles (except Kid. 41 ) both in 
its relation to its sources and in its employment of motives. It is there- 
tore hardly fair to apply to the whole collection any argument based 
upon forms in this isolated problem. 

(2} 'In Kid. 24' Agof vi\v\?X. have been originally Agob, the inversion 
of Boga. This final b, which in this case a later scribe has changed toy", 
is not found later than the middle of the eighth century.' * It is hard to 
feel the weight of this argument. Are we to believe that a riddler in the 
latter part of the eighth or even in the ninth and tenth centuries was 
prevented by phonetic laws from inverting any word with an initial /' 
and thus forming a nonsense-word with an uncouth ending ? f Agob is as 
possible at any period of Old English as To<f>XaTT66paT (Ar. Ka//. 1 286 ff.) 
is in Attic Greek. To some it may have significance that Barnouw t 
regards Kid. 24 as very late on account of its four articles before 
simple substantives. 

(3) ' P>om the runes in Kid. 43, two N's, one /E, two A's and two 
H's (the names are written out, f/jd, cesc, dais, and hcegelas) are derived 
the two words ha7ia and han. A instead of o before nasals, and ce as an 
umlaut of this a, point to the beginning of the eighth century.' For 
many reasons, this argument is not conclusive : (a) That the date of 
Kid. 43 is very late rather than early, Barnouw § seeks to show by 
pointing to the large number of articles — seven in seventeen verses — 
and to the use of articles instead of demonstratives, J>as hordgates, 

bear an unstressed e (tc&el-) in a Kentish charter of 740 (p. 428), if a Mercian 
grant of 769 (p. 430) employs always the unstressed /, and if, moreover, all North- 
umbrian poems, including the Ruthwell Cross inscription (which Cook, P. M. L. A. 
XVII, 367-390; Dream of the Rood, p. xv, assigns to the tenth century), and if 
the glosses to the later chapters of John in the Lindisfarne Gospels after 950 
(Cook, P. M. L. A. XVII, 385) employ that form, how can we infer with good 
reason that the Leiden Riddle, which admits both i and e, was written before 750 ? 
Scholars have as yet found no sure footing on the slippery ground of Anglo- 
Saxon chronology. 

* This statement Sievers elsewhere applies to ob {^Leiden Rid. 2, 14); but he 
admits (XIII, 16) that this b is twice found in the Libe7- Vitae of the ninth century 
(335, Cnobwalch; 339, Leobhelin). I note it in Kentish charters of S31 (Sweet, 
O. K. 71, 445, No. 39, 1. 2), ob &ein laiide, and 832 (ib. 446, No. 40, 1. 17), ob minem 
erfclande. Such peculiarities are not mere matters of date. 

t See the nonsense-words of the Charms [Lchd. Ill, 10, 58, 62). 

}!'. 214. §P. 215. 



Iviii INTRODUCTION 

pa rcedellan (contrast 56", pisses gieddes). (b) A and cr may indicate a 
very late quite as well as an early date for our \^ersion of the runes of 
this riddle, as hona and hien are well established West Saxon forms. 
This circumstance naturally destroys any value as proof which the 
assertion of their early Northumbrian origin might ha\'e. Instead of 
proceeding like Sievers from the assumption of early authorship for the 
riddle, it would be just as easy to proceed from the assumption of late 
authorship.* (c) My opinion is strikingly supported by the appearance 
of such a West Saxon fonn as EA(r//) among the runic words of Rid. 
65.1 Sievers himself admits | that MON (20^) is a late product. 

(4) 'In the runic riddle 20, the runes give us the form COFOAH 
(the inversion of HAOFOC). Since ao is found nowhere else as the 
//-umlaut of a, hafoc is to be substituted. This form with unumlauted a 
indicates the first half of the eighth century.' Now, although we may 
reject with Sievers the AO of HAOFOC, and although Rid. 65^* H and A 
speak against an original HEAFOC and for an original HAFOC in our 
version, yet let us note that the word hafoc is not only Northumbrian 
but good West Saxon ; that, as such, it appears in Rid. 25^ and 41®' and 
in many other poetical passages, consequently in our text of the runes. 
Therefore the argument that Sievers bases upon this form falls to the 
ground. 

Professor Sievers's four arguments seem, therefore, to have small 
probative value. But, while questioning the weight of his premises, 
I think that he may not be far wrong in his conclusion that the Riddles 
are the product of the first half of the eighth century, as this was the 
golden age of English riddle-poetry. § That ^ the Riddles belong to this 
period, and therefore antedate Cynewulf , is, however, onl}- a surmise, which 
is perhaps incapable of proof. Sievers certainly has not proved it. 

* Sievers's deductions from these runes carry as little weight as Trautmann's 
conclusions as to dialect, based upon the supposedly Northumbrian form eii'tt in 
the Juliana rune-passage {A'yne'u>ulf, p. 73), and refuted by Klaeber {Journal of 
Germanic Philology IV, 1902, 103), who points to 'the forms e-MO, Ine's Lazes 55 
(MS. E) ; e-cva (ace. pi.), O. E. Martyrol. (Herzfeld), 36, 17 ; ewede, ib. 170, 26 ; and 
to Sievers, Gr.^, 73, n. i ; 156, n. 5; 25S, n. 2.' I mention all this in order to 
anticipate the equally false claims that may be founded upon the e-wii form de- 
manded by the Erlemann solution of Rni. 90 (note). 

t In my notes to that riddle the reading EA(r/^) is established beyond doubt. 

X Anglia XIII, 17. 

§ Yet, as we have seen, it is impossible to connect them directly with either 
Tatwine or Eusebius. 



Al'TIIORSHIP OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES lix 

In Madcrl's monograph * the final blow is dealt to the theory of 
Cynewulfian authorship of the Riddles. Madert takes direct issue with 
Herzfeld. and devotes his thesis to showing that the Riddles have little 
in common with the poems of Cynewulf. He rightly believes that no 
comparison can be instituted between the varying use of sources in the 
Riddles and Cynewulf's adherence to one text. In style and word- 
use the Riddles bear no closer resemblance to the undisputed works of 
Cynewulf than to many other Anglo-Saxon poems. t Among the phrases 
cited by Herzfeld % as common to the Riddles and Cynewulf, there is 
hardly one that does not appear elsewhere. So the synonyms adduced 
for the same purpose are seen to be commonplaces of the poetry. The 
greater part of Madert's dissertation is devoted to the language of the 
Riddles. On account of many noteworthy differences between the speech 
of the problems and that of Cynewulf, he reaches the conclusion not only 
that these poems are not the work of that writer, but that they are the 
products of an earlier period — probably the beginning of the eighth 
century. § 

The evidence of meter, language, and style certainly speaks against 
the theory of Cynewulfian authorship. In the consideration of this, we 
are met by a double difficulty : the absence of any trustworthy Cynewulf 
canon, on account of the widely differing opinions of scholars regarding 
the authenticity of such poems as the Atidreas, and of the larger part 
of the Christ (1-440 ; 867-1693) ; and secondly, the obvious difference 
between the matter and tone of such products of the profane muse as 
the Riddles and the loftier temper of religious verse, — a difference that 
compels quite another manner of expression. Yet Sievers, Trautmann, 
and Madert have noted in the Riddles points of variance from the un- 
doubted poems of Cynewulf : points which, slight though they be, invite 
consideration, because they are independent of all questions of genre 

* Die Sprache der alteitglischen Rdtsel Jes Exeterhiichcs iiiid die Cync^i'x Iff rage, 
Marburg, 1900. 

t Cf. Madert's examples (pp. lo-i i), and the parallels cited by Sarrazin, Beoiviilf- 
Sttidien, pp. 1 13, 159, 202 ; Kail, Aiigiia XII, 24 f. ; and Buttenwieser, StuJien iiber 
die Verfasserschiift des Andreas, pp. 22 f. | P. 17. 

§ This latter conclusion, which is obviously dictated by Sievers's article [supra), 
is reached in strange fashion. To cite but one of Madert's arguments (p. 12S): 
in 57^ 7i>ido appears for West Saxon wiidii. — 'der u-Umlaut des/ ist also hier 
noch unterblieben, was mindestens in den Anfang des 8. Jahrhunderts zuriick- 
weist.' Strange then that we should meet tvidu in .Alfred's Meters 13^^, which is 
not suspected to be an early Northumbrian text ! 



Ix INlKOine'TUiN 

anil toiu'-iiualilw V.wn llcr/tcKl. th(niL;h arj;uinj;' tor ( 'nih'wuII's autlior- 
sliip, was liMWcl [o nolo at least ouv inipoitant \aiiation from that pool's 
niotrioal usa^o. Iloth in tho tirst and sooond halt-linos, tho A'/i/(//(S ddord 
sovoral oxaniplos ot tho appoaranoo of a strossod slun-t syllalilo in the 
sooond loot ot i\po A, whon no st.'oondai\' stross prooodos.* .\hhouL;h 
SioNors has roniarkotl t stxorai ooounonoos of this verso in the jioetry, 
it is noteworthy that not one of those appears in C'vnowultian work, 
llor/fold also notes I \ariations from l."\nowulf's t'orms of (," anil O 
t\pi-s; hut those soi'm far less oonoUrsivo. 

A rooord oi tho more striking;' dil'forenoos in lan_i;iiai;e hotwoon the 
A'/t/(//ts and tho aoooptod piH-ms oi C\nc\\\\\\ in.w justifx- itself as an 
historioal snr\o\ , inasniuoh as snoh disoussion has boon in Inilk tho most 
iniportanl part of the eritieism of the AV,/,//<-,v. 

(^1 ) rraulinann lias oorrootU' obsor\od ^AV//fTi7///i ]i\t. 2i)-3oHhat (."ynowiilf 
sckloni. if o\or. (.-xpands oontractod forms for tho sake of liis verso. Otlier 
AngUvSaxon ptn-ts freely permit themselves tliis liberty (^Sievers, /7>7>. X, 
47; (.); and tlu- AVi/</A-,v in particular abound in examples (^Sievers, 1. e. : Herz- 
feki. pp. ()0-(>i ; Madert, p. 53): 4*'^ mines frcan ; 23^ ofras hea ; 6"', oft ic 
wii; sei> ; 29'*, 32-^ 33", 40^ 42'', hw;et seo wiht sy (sTe) ; 63'"'. hwTlum ut tyh'N ; 
64'-, fxgre onl'con ; 64'^, Ivor wit tu beoiN ; ete. 

(^j^i Trautmaiui argues s? th.it in the //-less forms oi /'cor/i, as/'to/rs, /'c'on\ 
the penult is .iKvavs short in i.'\ new ulfian verse; whiU' llerzfeld|| and Madert T[ 
have pointed out that in the Kiiiii/cs it is always lout;-. I'nfortunately for the 
full foree of the implied argument. Trautmann not only draws his examples 
largelv from the .h/t//Y<is, but changes the ./////(///<; verses 191. 50S, tliat 
oppose his view ; vet the difference in use has some slight probative value. 
ll't\i/iis in AV</. 13^-^. S7i't\irtr //'<■<//•/.»■. h.is .1 long penult i^.Sievers. /V>V>*. X, 
4SSh but //'</A" (U'liAi) in the Kitfif/ts is almost certainly regarded as ^^ x 
^Herzfeld. \\ 58). 

(3") .-Vccording to Trautmann.** L'vnewulf uses only /iil'ii in dative, —since 
he reganls C/ir. 293, to lu'o/o>tlid»u\ as non-Cvnewultian. Hamc is found in 
the Riddles, 30'', hi'ihe to hatn //(////[ t] (Herzfeld. p. 59. Madert. p. 61 V 

* Inst.uices of _L \ | v.^- X \\\ the tirst half-line are found Rid. 15'''. wicge wega'S; 
i8'k nu'u gemunan ; 47'', cam ond nefa ; 93''^', strong on stivpe ; in the second 
half-line, AViA 39''', duna briceN; 39". binde^ cwice ; 43-'. ute plegan (?). For ex- 
amples of _^ X X (X ) I vjj X in fii-st half-line, see RiJ. 16-, sidan swa some; 28*^ 
strengo bistolen ; 28''', mivgene binumen ; 43", h;vgelas swii some; 64*, llwilum 
mec on cofan ; 84-^, wiindrum bewrehed ; 84—', hordvuu gehroden ; m second half- 
line, sg^'*. hry sind in naman ; 84-^ wistimi gehladen (Herzfeld. pp. 44, 40, 56). 

+ /V.7>. X, 454. t \\ 36. § r. --^ li 1^ 5S. t r. 127- ** !'• 79- 



AiriioKsiiii' oi' iiii'; i:.\i:ii:k i'.ook kiddi.I'.s l\i 

(4) C"\iu'\vuir usi's till' intli'i'ti'd foiins of nunu-rals il no sulislantiw follows, 
but the uninflcctcd before a substantive iniinediately following (Trautniann, 
83). This is not the case in the /\/t./(//cs (Madert, pp. 61-62): 14^ tyn \v;Tron 
ealra; 37"'', hrefde feowere fet under wonihe. Not niueh stress ean be laid u|)on 
the second examiile. siiue the uniutleeli-d form is metriealh' ])ossible, and since 
in the same riddle other atliilnilix e adjc'eti\'es aii- uninlleited, 37'^ '^, 1 befde tu 
fil'ru ond twelf eagan | ond siex heafclu (cf. se'*, ond twegen let). This argu- 
ment has, therefore, little force. 

(5) Cynewulf wrole both I'dultr and /(('v/^/^v (Trautmann, p. 771: but only 
the shorter form is found in the A'/r/^Z/iW ( iMadert, ]). ::(i). I pon this no great 
stress can be laitl. for the three reasons thai the longi'r lorin is exceptional in 
Cynewulf, and that il appears elsewhere in the poetry (/>(■(^rl'. 459, 2049; (icii. 
1074, 2696; Met. 20-*'''. etc.\ and. finally, that any argument drawn from the 
absence of a word or form is \'ain. 

(6) The stem-syllables in bit[t)cr and snot{t)or are always long in Cynewulf 
(Trautmann, p. 76). In the Riddles they arc sometimes long, 86-, 95'^ (Ilcrz- 
feld, p. 58); sometimes short, 34"'', biter beadoweorca ; 84"'\ mon mode snottor 
(Sievers, PBB. X, 508 ; llerzfeld, p. 58 ; Madert, p. 57). But neither of these 
examples is decisive. 

(7) Long-stemmed words ending in -el, -ol, -er, -or, -en, -utfi {/u/i^o/, ivitii- 
dor, hleahtor, taceit, etc.) are regarded by Cynewulf as dissyllables (Traut- 
mann, p. 28), whereas in the Riihilcs they are often monos\llal)ic (MaiU'rt, 

PP- 54-55)- 

(8) Herzfeld * and Madert f note certain variations in the use of single 
words, which seem to me to have very little significance : 

iii) Cynewulf uses \iO\.\i gienvati rwA geanvia/t (Trautmann, p. 85). In the 
Riddles only forms of the first are found (ai-'", ay^'"*, 29'. 30'', 37-, 68'", 69-). 

{b) Cynewulf usesjv/gau (Trautmann, p. 86) ; the Ridd/rs, liki- the . Indreas, 
6'J2),foigiiJ/' : 38'-, Zi-, hegn folgade. 

{c) Only uncontracted forms of the present particijjle of bfiaii are found in 
Cynewulf, whereas the meter clearly establishes contraction in Rid. 26-, neali- 
biinduin iiyt (Sievers, PBB. X, 480). 

(d) It may be added that crrS^or^^ (24") does not occur in the undoiibled 
Cyncwullian i)oems, but in licowitl f. 

(9) Following the investigations of Lichtenheld % Madert § has pointed out 
that in the use of the definite article the Ixiddles (117 articles in 1290 verses) 
belong ratlK-r to the time of />V^7iv///'than to that '.t^ J iiliiiiia. 

(ID) Barnouw || discovers in Cynewulf only one example of weak adjective 
with instrumental, Clirist 510, beorlUan reordc: but in the Riddles several 

*P. 63. t P. 129. t //"/'//.>■ -^.v. X\T, 325. 

§ r. 128. II Der beslimmte Arlikcl, etc., p. 222. 



Ixii INTRODUCTION 

instances: 4''''\ blacait /fxt'\ 41''", IcoJitait /t\>//ui/t\ 41"'', .f^ivv/^A?// j'Fv/d' (perhapt 
sweart ansyne)\ 41''*', ecan iiiealituiit \ 57''''", for/if an leafum. 

(Ti) Barnouw * says of the Riddles: -They are popular only in respect to 
their vocalnilarv ; in rej^ard to stvle, thev are not different from the other 
poetic monuments. Their only striking peculiarity is the repeated use of the 
article before terms of ••dwelling." ' Compare Rid. 8'-, /«il TivV; 50"*, on ham 
li'icuni ; 73'-'', of ham wlcion \ 30^ to ham //rtw[f]. 

\\z) Madert t notes that the dative after comparatives — -instead oi honne 
phrase — is not found in CyncwuU, but appears frequently in Kid. 41 : 4ii'*'3s, 

4B,uO,5l!,G7,70.7S,SO,S-2 

(13) Sarnizin J marks that in the older poetry ((;<•//. .7, Jhni.) words like 
A7( //, ii.'u!di\ are customarily monosyllabic, while in Cynewulf's works tdcen, 
iviildor are regularly dissyllables {supra). Both usages appear in the Riddles: 
56^, ond rode tdcn ; 6o^^\i;o/des tacen ; 84*-, swd htvt li'ii/d^oywifa (MS. ti'i/e&); 
84-"', 7i>\'ns//m ii<iildorgi)nm ; etc. 

(1 4) Sarrazin V} also observes that wi>rds like iie icolde. ne iviste^ ne 7i'<rs, 
are imcimtractcd in older poems, but that in C\newulf nolde, niste, ncrs. domi- 
nate. These premises can have little value on account of the numerous excep- 
tions to this rule, but it is certain that the Riddles prefer the imcontracted 
forms. Indeed lurs and nolde do not appear; contrast, however, ie^^ nelle, 
i6i'' nele. 

According to Sarrazin, many of these traits that we have marked in the 
Riddles (notably (^1) and (2)) are characteristics of poems of an older period 
than that of Cynewulf. That is probably true, but the personality of the poet, 
as well as the date, must be considered in such cases. The archaistic spellings 
of glosses in the later chapters of the Lindisfarne John stand as a warning to 
the too rigid and minute interpreter of internal evidence, and remind us, in the 
words of Professor Skeat.|| that "large theories are constantly being built up, 
like an inverted cone, upon very slender bases.' 

Not much value can be attached to anv single variation from Cyne- 
wulf's usage, or indeed to the accumulative force of all that have been 
cited ; Init, in the absence of one jot of evidence connecting the Riddles 
with this poet, these differences add slightly to the heavv burden of proof 
resting upon him who seeks to revive the moribund claini of Cynewulfiaii 
authorship. •[ 

* P. 216. t Pp. 69, 12S. X Eug. Stud. XXXVIII. 160. 

§ I., c. II Preface to St. John's Gospel, p. xi. 

HOne is surprised to meet this statement in Brooke's E. E. Lit. from the Be- 
giuniug, p. 160, as late as 1S9S : 'There is a general agreement that we may 
attribute the best [AV</(//£:.r] to Cynewulf.' So far is this from being the case, that 
with the e.xception of the Erlemanns, who interpret Rid. 90 as a Cynewulf charade 



AUTHORSHir OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES Ixiii 

Unity of Autiiokship 

In his second article,* Dietrich notes, as one point against his final 
thesis of the unity of the whole collection, that the Riddles are not 
written as a continuous whole. He believes that the collector drew 
from different manuscripts, which represent two series of riddles : 1-60 
(or 61) and 62-95. He has already doubted in his first article f 
whether the second series was by the same author as the first, be- 
cause several of the subjects arc repeated, and a good poet does 
not repeat himself. That Series i has throughout unity, Dietrich seeks 
to show t by three traits of these poems: (1) inner relation between 
subjects ; (2 ) like employment of Latin sources ; (3) agreement in 
treatment. 

(i) Dietrich admits § that there is no definite plan of arrangement, 
but declares that the poet avoids placing together nearly-related subjects 
because they are too easy to find. But there can be a connection resting 
upon association of ideas and a certain poetic purpose in this connection. 
He seeks to defend this assertion by an outline of the topics discussed 
in Series i , and in this he is followed by Prehn || ; but Holthaus is clearly 
right in his contention \ that ' it is no very difficult thing, out of a great 
mass of subjects which follow one another in purely arbitrary fashion, 
to select and bring together those that have a certain likeness.' My 
analysis {infra) shows that the final order is in a few cases the order of 
composition. There is certainly no single idea in this group of riddles. 
Very little stress can be laid upon this first argument ; indeed, Wiilker 
does not think it worth while to class it with the other arguments in his 
summary of Dietrich's views.** 

(2) Upon the second argument, the like use of Latin sources, 
Dietrich lays some stress. tt l>ut the evidence that he presents is too 

{supra), hardly any one now believes that the poet had aught to do with these 
problems. (Brandl, who accepts the Erlemann solution, Pauls Grundriss'^ II, 972, 
thinks that the writer of the Latin enigma may have been another Cynevvulf or 
else an admirer of the poet. This person, he thinks, may have been the editor of 
the second series (61-95) ^^i" even of both series.) Wiilker, however, holds {Aiiglia, 
JU\ XIX, 1908, 356) that 'a part of the collection is from Cynewulf's hand' ; but 
he brings nothing to sustain his view. 

* Haupts Zs. XII, 234. t XI, 488. t XII, 235. § XII, 236. 

II P. 150. ^Anglia Vn, Anz. 12 I. 

** Gruudriss, pp. 16S-169. ft See also Herzfeld, p. 5. 



Ixiv INTRODUCTION 

slii;hl * to warrant the sweeping assertion that a greater dependence 
ui)on Latin models marks the first group, a freer movement charac- 
terizes tlie second, 'lliis difference, however, is to hv explained, so 
Dietrich thinks, not by difference in authorship, but by the personal 
inclination of one poet. Holthaus t objects that Dietrich's ver)- examples 
mark a distinct unlikeness in the relation of different riddles to their 
Latin prototv])es and analogues. 

It,) Dietrich t finds a third argument for unity of authorship in the 
treatment c behandlung ") — particular!)- in the use of opening and clos- 
in"- formulas. § He examines in detail the \arious forms, and notes the 
far greater elaboration of those in the first series compared with those of 
the second ; and secondly infers from the likeness between the formulas of 
the earlier group a single author. Herzfeld,|| arguing for the unity of the 
whole collection, points out that sixteen out of the first sixty (this result 
must be modified) lack formulas, and that six others have the short 
ck)sing formulas of the second group. While the mere use of such con- 
ventional forms would hardly serve to establish identity of authorship, 
as these can be employed so readily by an imitator,1[ still a careful con- 
sideration of these formulas is not without value. Of the so-called first 

* Dietrich, Ifaupts Zs. XII, 241, notes that in 17, 48, 61, we meet with verbatim 
borrowings from Symphosius ; 36, 39, 41, are taken sentence for sentence from 
Aldhelm : in 6, 14, 29, 37, 51, 54, certain matter is borrowed. In the second series 
he marks a freer employment of Symphosius (AV,/. 66, 84, 85, 86, 91), and a few 
traits from Aldhelm. In particular riddles, Dietrich's conclusions regarding 
sources must be corrected by the light of my study of origins {supra). 

tL. c. t XII, 241. 

§ Dietrich, Ihuipts Zs. XII, 241, marks the use of opening formulas in old 
Germanic riddles, particularly in the Hci^arar Saga. In these Gaiiir we meet such 
beginnings as these : ' What kind of wonder is that which I saw without before 
the doors of the prince,' ' When I journeyed from home, I saw on the way,' ' I 
saw in summer upon the mountains,' or ' I saw faring this and that.' It is inter- 
esting to note that Heusler, Zs. d. V.f. Vk. XI, 133, cites, as an indication of 
unlikeness between the different numbers of the Hei&reks Gdtiir, the quite differ- 
ent forms of their beginnings. Petsch discusses at length (pp. 51-5S) introductory 
foi-mulas which have nought to do with the germ or central thought of the popu- 
lar riddle. We meet similar introductions in the English Holme RiJdles, P. J/. Z. A. 
XVIII, 211 ff. : Nos. 51, 53, 'As I went on my way, I heard a great wonder'; 
No. 52, 'As I went through the fields'; No. ill, 'As I went by the way.' But 
these are mere commonplaces of riddle-poetry. 

II Die Riithsel dcs E.xeterbuches, p. S. 

ITCf. Holthaus, Anglia VII, Anz. 122. 



AUTHORS! I IP OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES Ixv 

group (1-60) some twenty-nine lack opening formulas {Rid. 3, 4, 5, 6, 
7, 8, 9, 10, II, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 31, 36, 40, 
41, 45, 47, 55, 58); of the second group (61-95), twenty-six [Rid. 61, 
62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 88, 
89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95). 'I'he absence of opening formulas from the later 
riddles is not less significant than the lack of these in the first seventeen 
problems of the collection. Thirty-three of the riddles of the first group 
have no formal closing (Jiid. 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 
26, 30, 31, 34, 35, 38, 39, 41, 45-55, 57, 59) ; so with twenty-four of the 
second group, of which many are incomplete {Kid. 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 
72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 85, 87-89, 91-95). Thus in the first 
group fifteen riddles lack all formulas {Kid. 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 
22, 23, 31, 41, 45, 47, 55); in the second, eighteen, five of which have 
defective endings, are without them {Rid. 64, 66, 71, 72, 74, 77, 78, 79, 
81, 82, 85, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95). If we are tempted by a similar 
absence of opening or of closing formulas in many successive riddles 
(compare Kid. 3-18 ; 45-55) to draw the inference that in such cases 
the order of the Exeter Book does not depart from the order of composi- 
tion, we have strong evidence that the formulas employed are not the 
additions of a collector, but belong in nearly every case to the original 
fabric of the problem. The formula is usually bound to the riddle-germ 
by alliteration, grammar, or syntax, often by all three. Among the more 
striking of opening formulas thus deeply inwrought into the poems are 
the following : ic com wunderllcu wiht {Rid. 19, 21, 24 {^vrHtlic), 25, 26) ; 
ic {ge)seah {Rid. 20, 32^, 338, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60, 65, 75, 76); ic wiht 
gcsca/i, and its variations {Rid. 30, 35, 39, 43, 52, 87) ; ic zcat {Rid. 44, 
50, 59) ; ^^ grff'^S^i {Rid. 46, 48'-, 49, 68 ). Note that the first two and 
the last of these opening formulas are mainly found in successive riddles 
of certain parts of the collection. The closing formulas are also closely 
connected with the body of the riddle by alliteration, and often by se- 
quence of thought. Among the more important of these formal closings 
are Saga Jnoat ic hatte either alone {Rid. 11, 20, 24, 63, 67, 73, 80, 83, 
86) or with an additional thought {Rid. 4, 9, 13) ; Saga with a question 
{Rid. 2,3, 36) ; Frige Jnvxt ic hatte alone {Rid. 15, 17) or with some 
addition [Rid. 27, 28) ; Alicel is to hycganne . . . hwcet seo wiht sy {Rid. 
29, 32 ; compare variations of this final formula, 33, 36, 42, 68) ; RUd 
hwcet ic mcene{Rid. 62) ; JVcf/i/ia'd hy syJfe [Rid. 58) ; and yet more elabo- 
rate endings {Rid. 5, 37, 43, 56, 84"). It is interesting that each portion 



Ixvi INTRODTC'I'lON 

of tlu' (.-olk-olion sccnis to haw its lavorilt.- lonmilas, and that, just as in 
their coniinon dislike of formal opi-nin^s, so the earlier riddles of the first 
group seem to fall in the same eategory with the problems of the second 
group either in their entire a\'oidanee of formulas at the close or in their 
use of .'^'.i^'ir hii'tif ic hattc. ( )nlv a very few formulas are indc-pendent of 
the thought and structure of the problem as is so often the case in the 
//(•/<))v7('.»- (rii/i/r. Kxamples of such an independent o])ening formula 
ai-e found in the two lirst lines of AW. 32, 33; but in each case this 
begiiuiing is followed by the common con\'ention. /<■ S(-<r/i. So the inde- 
pendent beginning of Kitf. 37 is ])re(i\ed to h'uL 69, a folk-riddle with 
a formula of its own. The last two lines of A'/,/. 40 are unconnected 
widi the riddle, but these are preceded by an elaborate formula woven 
closely into sense and syntax. The formula, when it ai)pears, is thus 
exidentlv regaiiled not as a vain and isolali'd sui)plement to the riddle, 
but as an essential and vital part of its structure. 

.Agreement of treatment throughout the collection can be best tested, 
howi'ver, bv a careful examination and conij)arison of the motivi's and 
diction of the various riddles. 1 shall tlu'rcfore make a cursory survey 
of the problems from this ])oint of \ii'w. 

The Stonn Riddk-s (A'i,/. 2, 3, 4) are strikingl\- differentiatixl from 
the t)ther ridtUes in their sustained loftiness of tone. And yet in these 
poems in which the riddle is the least part of itself, ]ioems which recall 
rather the sea-passages of the .tiiii/rds, wv liiul points in common with 
the smaller ])roblems. 7vVr/. 2^ />oiinc ic wiiiiii Inrix (^see 4'"'*), explains the 
central thought of R'nL 81", sr />c winiu hir>rd\ and 3", str7\i»itis sfa/'it 
/><ii/,i'<\ suggests 81 ^ ///<•(• stonih'iidc strtiimas lu-ata'<^. Kid. 3', ('// stcalc 
hliv/hu and 4*'', stcalc stiUiJih-o/'n, find their only parallel in 93", s/ra/r /i/ipo, 
a liddle which has something in common with 81 (81'', 93'"'). The 
pit'ture of tottering walls (4''"^) is matched b\' the defectixe lines 
84" ■". 4"', A' »ir 7c>c-g(is fi7(7/c(y, is found elsewhere only in 52'', sr him 
KuXiis frit-nr/K 3'", r'/" /'/-////<•.*• /ir/w /////, appears again Kitf. 11""'; compare 
3'^ 77-. Slighter [xuallels are inilicated in the notes. In 6'*'' the Sword 
is described as /i(>H(ho<v>r smi/\r as in 21" (^compare 27'\ unvir srni/hi, 
Hook\ AV,/. 6 and 7 resemble each other in the spirit of battle. Prchn * 
points out that 7' -, . JAv. ;•'■>'//(• . . . Cnsf fo ro/n/^i-, is paralleled in A'/</. 30, 
where the Sun appears as a tighter against the Moon. The Bird riddles, 
8, 9, 10, II, 25, 58, are closely boimd together. The many likenesses 

* r. 167, note. 



AUTHORSHIP OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES Iwii 

between the poems of the Swan (8) and the Barnacle (ioosc (ii) go far 
towards establishing the latter solution. In both hyrste is used of ' wings ' 
(8\ II*) and hnc}:;! oi ' coat of feathers ' (8\ ii" ) ; the air raises both birds 
and bears them widely (8'''', ii''^^^; compare 58^ Swallows); and the 
word ^'■^•/^'//^^ is found in both problems ('8*', ii'*). Tirdc^Z^) appears again 
in the ' Swallows ' riddle (58^ //vv/^/r)"), which in turn recalls the ' Higora' 
nme-puzzle in its use of /icinna'd{^%^, 25"). Rid. 9 closely resembles J\id. 
25 (9'-''^, 25' ; <)\ 25'' ; 9^", as'*) and may have the same solution, ' Jay ' ; 
while its half-line /ilTidc dnne {cf) finds its parallel in 58^, Iilude cirnia'd 
(see also 49- ^). Compare the ' Cuckoo ' riddle, 10^"', o/.>/?cct ic inv'cox\e\ 
with 11^'', on siindc Tuvox. After such comparison of these six riddles, can 
it be doubted that the}' all belong to a Uird group, and that they are all 
from one hand ? And yet the group is not isolated but is closely associ- 
ated with other problems, particularly with its neighbors in the Exeter 
Book. Rid. ii\ Neb wcvs fin/i on neance, invites comparison with 22^ 
32", SS** ; ii'*', i/fan ypi/m peaht, with \^'^\yl)iim /'ea/it; 11*'', lncfde feorh 
avieo, with 14^ and 74'''; ii®''', of fcc'Qmum . . . brimes, with 3'^ {supra). 
Hrcegl and hyrste (supra) both appear in ihc first line of Rid. 12, the 
companion piece of Rid. 28 ; and hnegl in 14''. Vet another likeness 
with the Wine or Mead group (12, 28, 29) is found in the two pictures 
of the haunts of the Swallows and of the Bees (58^^, ofcr beorghleo/'a ; 
28'-, of burg/ileopinn). Rid. 12 and 28 are obviously mates, as are 13 
and 39 (comi^are also 72). Rid. 13 is associated slightly with the riddle 
of Night-debauch {Rid. 12) by its ninth line, dot drunemennen deoreiim 
nihtHm\ through 13*"', ivege'd and py^., vi\\\\ 22'"^ weged mee and fjyd\ by 
the introduction of the unnfeax Wale (8 a), with 53"', wo7fah Wale ; 
and by the peculiar idiom in 13''^' with 26**. I have already noted close 
parallels between the vocabulary of Rid. 14 and preceding riddles (14" ^°, 
hragl.frcetwe, S^'" ; 148, ii^; i4i'ii, furf tredan,S^, hrusan trede). 14*'', 
Sii'eotol ond gesyne, reappears 40'. Rid. 15 has no points of likeness to 
the neighboring riddles, save to them all in its lack of opening formula, 
and to 17 in its close ; but, as 1<>. M tiller * early pointed out, it closely re- 
sembles Rid. 80, which has the same theme (see notes under 80 for 
common traits), and suggests the ' I^wn'' and 'Beaker' riddles (31", 64''). 
Compare also \^^'^ with 2i^^ 56\ 57", 64^, 68'". Rid. 16 contains not only 
many hapax-legomena,t but many expressions found only here and in 

* Cothenei- Progranim, 1861, p. 18. 

t Herzfeld, pp. 10-12 ; McLean, Old and Middle English Render, 1893, p. xxxi. 



Ixviii INTRODUCTIDN 

close companions in tlic KxttcrJ^ook : i6^, bcndoivicpcn (18'', bcdihmitcpinnn') ; 
i6-'', tosiclc/' (17'^) ; I6'-^ Jiiltiifilum (i8'\ Jiyliicpilas). Otlicr similaiilics in 
word-use arc 16", liim />i'd' dra'd ici/oJ {yi. 16'', 2i-\ 85" ) ; i6-'\ iiucgbiirge 
(ci. 21-"); 16'-, i-aj'onm (21-*); I6^ iv'ic huge (8-). AV^/. 17 lias phrases 
in common with 11 and 16 {sitpra^. RitL 18, in the phrasing of three 
of its motives (i8\ 24''' ; i8''''', 24'"'; 18'', 24'-'), closely resembles 24, 
' liow." * RiiL 20 and 65 form a riddle-pair, associated as they are not 
only hv likeness of runes but 1)\- their very phrasing (20''', 65' ; com- 
pare heii' another runic riddle, 75'). Jfvgno/o/u/ic is found only here 
(^20'-') antl 46'' {^/iyg(-7i>/(>H(). KiJ. 21 has manv points of contact with 
other problems of like subject; nolabh' with 24 (2i' reappears very 
slightlv ihanged, 24-); and the moli\e of the relation of the weapon to 
its 7c>ii/t/i/i(/ is common to both (^21^, 24''); with 6 {2i~\ 6'^; 21"', 6*; 
21", 6"\ see I'rehn. p. 1S7): with 16 {^si/pni)\ with 56 (2i'''V''""\ descrip- 
tion of treasures, 56-'' : 21'-, 56'); with 71 (^2I'^^^ 71"; 2i--'. 71'^); with 
54 anil 73 in the wea])on's K/<igf/ici/. In its opening line RiJ. 22 invites 
eomjxn'ison with 11', 32''. 35''. Still another likeness between 22" and 
35'-, the teeth of both, is pointed out b\' I'rehn ; f but this is perhaps pro- 
duced b_\ the nature of the subjects. A'/V/. 22**, 7cii'gi'd //ur oiul J>yp, is very 
similar to 13'* [si/pnr): 22", brungcii <>/ bcance, to 28'-, brungi-n of hcar- 
7010/1 ; ami 22^'', hicbbc {/r) 7viiiuira Jehu reappears 83''"'. KiiL 23 has also 
its parallels: 23*"', 11? lagii ///?]/</<•, recalls 8", and 23"''', lu- on hff«^ J^cag, 
suggests 52'' ; 23'. y/>n gr/>riri\ is found onl}- 3- (see 4*"'*) ; and the negative 
mcthotl of the problem is also that of 40. 1 have already discussed the 
relation of 24. ' How," to the earlier weapoii problems (i8,2i\and of 25 
to the Bird group (8, 9, 10, 11, 58). Ri(f. 26 is not onl\- the mate to the 
later 'Onion' riddle. 66 (26-''^ 66--'' ; 26", 66-''-»'' ; 26''\ 66^" U' but is the 
fust of the obscene riddles of the collection (26''"", 46^^, 62''''M. KiJ. 27, 
' lH)ok,' has not a little in common with the riddles of similar theme, 
52, * Pen and Fingers' (27'\ 52" (^?) ; 27", 52-'); 93, ' Inkhorn ' (^27^", 
g^ih 5j1.2-i4 . 27"^ 93-'-2 ; 27". 93-''', compare 52^) ; 68. ■ Hible ' (2'j^'\ 68'' ; 
27*'*^, 68") ; and 50. ' bookcase ' (27-^, gi/r(\ ^0^ gifr/o/i /,7r//f/i). Rui. 27 
and 28 touch each other closely at one point (27" '-, niti si/>lhi>i . . . Juried, 
28^, hiclc'd nice sip/hin^. RiJ. 28 is certainly a ct)mpanion piece to 12 
(supray In the description of the bees it suggests the Bird riddles, 8,58 

* The relation of A'a/. 18 to 24 lias been set forth bv the writer in .1/. /,. .\'. XXI, 
100. Traiitniann. />'/>'. \1X, 1S0-1S4, seeks to <.'onnect it with 50. 
t r. z-ji. t Cf. M. I.. X. XXI, 105. 



AL'TIlOKSIill" OK 'II ll'! 1:.\I';]-1':R I'.OOK RIDDIJ^S Ixix 

(28-'' hiirghU-o/'iiin, 58-' l>i-on^hlco/>it \ 28''-^', 8'', 58'); in its association of 
Honey and Mead it explains some eni^malii- lines in 80 (28'-', hru?igcn 
0/ beanc'um, 80", Jlu'hhc mr on Ihkshic /net on hcancc i;c7vco\)\* in its 
picture of the mead-hall it recalls is"'"', 21'-, 57'', t ^md furnishes a 
contrast to 29 (28*-^, 29**-^"), to which it bears a general likeness; and 
in the sorrow caused by its contact it deals with a favorite motive of 
these enigmas (28", 7", i6-^ 24"^ 26"-'"). % KAcept in its suggested con- 
trast to 28 {si//'/;i), and in the likeness of its closing formula to ■^2~''^-*^ 
Rid. 29 has nothing in common with its fellows. /^i(/. 30, as 1 have 
pointed out at length, § is bound by neaily all of its motives to 95 (30-'', 
QS*^'; 30^ 95'"; 30^ 95^"''; 30^*'', 95"'''); the Sun's power as a fighter 
(30" ") reminds us of 7^'^^, and the Moon's sad exile of 40 {infra') ; and 
the last motive of the riddle is very similar to tiiat of 83'- ". Only one 
or two i)hrases in Rid. 31 suggest other riddles : 31 ', Iwani l'lowrndi\ xk^- 
c-SS\f, 2"^ Jn\inoos l>lfdlnvate\ and 31'', rccvrrs- . . . nxw/J'),' llu- ' Horn ' and 
' Beaker' enigmas (15*, 64^). Dietrich || finds in 31' '' ' Taufwasser,' the 
motive of 84''"', but this relation is more than doubtful. We have already 
seen that Rid. 32 is connected through its opening formula with the 
next riddle, 33^'', and through its closing lines with 29'-' '•'. Its sixth 
Wnc, Nipcnveard imcs neh /tyre, closely resembles 22', 35'' (.*///'/ v), and its 
eighth, no hnuc/'rc f/Tvi^an nueg, //? fela gongan, 59'', nc /(-/o nd('(\ n'c 
flZ'Ogan ni(Cg. Rid. 32" and 59'"^^ contain the same motive, and /lord 
warad \'i found only 32'-', 93'-''. Like the Flute (61^'^"), the subject of 
this enigma speaks to men at the feast (32^- "). Apart from its likeness 
to 32, Rid. 33 has jioints of contact with man\' oilier riddles (33°, 40^"; 
33", 59', 81 », 86 «, 93-''; 33'^ 95«'-'). Prehn has noted II the very close 
verbal agreement between 34''^'" and 42-''. Compare with this the 
phrasing of 84*, a poem that contains general references to Ice (84*'^''''-'), 
the subject of 34 ; and mark a different expression of the same 
motive, 38^ I have already pointed out the likeness of 35" to 11', 22', 
and, particularly, 32® {supra). 35'* bears a certain similarity to 30'', and 
35""* has much in common with 71-''. Rid. 36 occupies an isolated 
po.sition among the riddles. Prehn** to the contrary, it bears no rela- 
tion to 57, and only a slight resemblance to 71 ; and even the closing 
formula does not appear in the older version of the problem. It is 

*Ii. Mliller, p. 19; Trautmann, />'/>'. XIX, 206. t I'lehii, p. 196. 

\ Dietrich, Ilatipts Zs. XII, 245. § J/. L. A'. XXI, 104. 

II XI, 469. t Pp. 211, 276. ** 1'. 207. 



Ixx 



INIKODIH'TION 



sliikiii;;l\ si_L;nirn'.in( lli;il il is linknl 1)\ a sini;k' moliw to 41 (36'', 
auuvjan u'Y/i/ii ir,rjttiiii \ 41^", ivrictluc i^dCthii ■7i>it/ii/(>/irttJ/< ), to 
wliifli it is i-|osi-l\' lioiiiul llii()iii;li its siiiiilar rrlatioii to Akllu'lni. 'I'lu' 
o|n'nm;', loiimila ol A'/,/. 37 is iHclixril witluuil rrasoii to Oc) ; ami tlu' 
nrobk'in has a ;;rnrial likciirss to otlua inonstri lulilk's (37''" ", 8l-' ", 
86'' " K A'/,/. 38 is a idm|)anion |)irrr to 87, which ri'i)ioihn.'rs its first 
liiu's. rhcsc Imrs (38' ') also su;;j;rst ic)'" ami tlu- Iraninrnt 8t) ; w hilr 
tlu" rlosin:; linr ol tlu- piohk-m U'ralls tlu' woiklokl moti\r ol 34'' 
(^sii/'/ii). h'lii. 3g is lu-aih iclali'd to tlu- liiklk's ol siinilai import, 13, 
73 (,39"'', 72'''*'; 39"', 13' '"'■). A'/,/. 40 l)rlon;;s to ihr jMoup of Sun 
ami Moon luklk's, 7, 30, 05: ihr ik'|)aitiiu' ami ilirarx cxik- ol' ' tlu- 
\\i;;hl" (40"'') an- ik'siiiln-il 30''"; tlir widr w amkain^s air piiluii'il 
40'"'', c)5'; tlu'iomloit l'roui;ht to man is mnitionril 40''', 7' ; ami tlu' 
siliMUT ami Ion- ol tin- suhjrrt apiuMr 40 '''■'■''■'■' ami 95' ''. 'I'hr ron 
trasts ol 40 sii;;>;i'st iIk- nu'thoil ol 41, ami ils mam iu'L;ati\i's that ol 
23. i'lu- close Illation ol 41 to O7 ami ils i'onm\tion with 30 will bo 
ilisrussoil m iho nolrs ; with tlu- otlu'i piohk'ms il has almost nothiiii;' 
in itunmon, I luka A'/,/. 34 1 ha\r imluatnl tlir likrnrss ol 42'-' {o 
34" '' ami 84'. I'lu- rlosiiiL; lomuila ol 42 hiiuls it to 2Q, whirh il also 
n-si-mlik-s in its uso o\ supi-i lati\ rs 142'' ', iQ- '') and ils i-mi>lo\iiu-iU ot 
/'/.'/.,'/ {^2' \ si-i- 2<.)"', /■'//, ((^'). I liml a Iru paiallrls to A',',/. 43: its 
«>lH-nin:; loimnla apin-ais I u-i|m-ntl\' in tlu- A'jJJ/iw; i-i|ui\ ak'iits ol Incitloc 
(^43'h an- i-lsi-w lu-ii- usi-il 'o sii;;i;i'sl lair brantv (^4l'''\ 80'') ; ■wltUic is nn- 
pkiw'il ill tlu- sanu- lontrxt i,2()'. ///.',/;.'/, "/r^ aiul icri'r,- in the same sense 
1^55*"); ('////,//(• t^43'''l is a not uneominon phrase 1^56'-, 57''-, ('////(•/") ; and 
7i'V/v//// «'•/ icifw (43'") su^i;(.-sts ;('(•/ ,</ u'l/u- (^47'^. A parallel to 44\ ///- 
i/rv/iZ/ir <(•/>(•/// f/i i/i(>r/ii\ is found in 05', i>u]>\ht<n i^nJ i-o>iufn ck'!); U) 44'-, 
^icst. in 4*', 8", 33'''.* ete. ; to the lefen-nee to the Ivaith as modJor on,i 
yicivsti'r (,44'^'> in 83''', tor/>on hro/>or:\ Kit/. 45 is one oi the i;nni|i of 
olisei-ne riddles, ami therefcMV has not a little in eoinmon w ith 26, 46, 55. 
63. 63, 64 (^45", 36^ ; 45'', 63"'!; its closest analo;;ue is 55 (45'', 55" ; 45' ', 
55" M. A'/,/. 46 is also lutund eloseh to others oi its ekiss (^46'". 55'-'' ; 
46"', 55"'', 63"' ; 46*, 26'^ ; 46*^'', sb''") ; and, in its use o\ /nvvvi'/. '//,-. has a 
slii;ht eoniu'ition with 20'-. /iV!^n<'/ontft<\ the only other oeeunenee ot 
thi- word. The world ridille 47 has nothim; in eoinmon with the other 



*Cl. IMotiich. /Lutfls /s. \11, -'45. 

\ (i. .\mi;U> S.ixt>M /V.MV A'/.;'./.V, (."iioin, /<i7'/. tur ,:tixr/.(,'ii/tsisi/i<-/i JWsic- 11,410. 
Si-i- iioto to 44'^ 



ArTiioRsiiii' OF Till'; i:.\i;ii;k i'.ook kiddi.I'Is lx.\i 

problems of llu- rollt-clion s;i\r llic liki'iicss of 47'' to 43"" (siif^nt). 
Kid. 48 is, however, foiiiuHlcd willi ollu'i' riddles: its seeond liiu- is 
similar to tiie opening; lonmilas ol 46', 49', and tln' use of stit/'ol (48'') 
invites comparison with 26^ 71-, 88-''', 92'' ; while its last motive (48'''') 
is not unlike 50'"". As Dietiieh loiif^; aj^o pointed out,* 49 is a eom- 
panion-jjieec to 60, as a likeness in all motives proclaims: it is associated 
by the phrase liliuie stcfne iic dnm/c (49'"") with the Hird riddles (9'', 
hlinic n///i(\ ^%*, hliidc liniuii)). A'it/. 50 has many analogues. Ctijriim 
Jdcum (50") and to iiyllc (50'') connect it vvilh llu- liook riddle (27-'''-'"); 
while its first and last motives may have het'ii su;4|;csted by the well 
known problem of tlu' llookmoth (48'' ''j. It bears an intereslin};' ri'kilion 
to its neighbor 51 (50*, (liiinbaii, 51'-, dumhiun \ 50'', 51-, ti> ii\tlc\ 50'', 
SI**, the 'feeding' of both); and it has points of contact widi 58 and 72 
(50'''', sc 7(ui/i/i<r Ax'V/ swiutrt 0/1,/ sdldiii'h \ 72'", sKuurrlum hyrde\ 58"", 
sweartc sir/a/^dt/t-). 'I'rautmann points out f lil<^" liails of the- subjects of 
50 and 18: both work b\' day (50'-, 18"), bodi swallow (I8^ 50'-"), and 
both conceal costly trea^sures (50", 18"'^"). A'id. 51 is connected nol only 
with 50, but, through its first line ]Vii:;(i is an cor/Mtn 7c>i(fidrii//i do/i/icd, 
with 84', A/i wilit is wttndniin dic/uut/. The likeness ])ointed out by 
Trautmann % between 52 and 27 has already been illustrated. 52'"', MS. 
flcotgan lyftc, recalls 23'" on lyffe Jirag (cf. 74"''); 52''", ///v^/ under y/'(\ 
appears again, 74''; and 52''''', sc liim ivegiis iuiciic/', re|)roduees 4"'' . The 
woiifa/i IVa/c o{ 53"'' reminds us of the wori/eax ll'd/r of 13"'. A'id. 54 
has much in common with 73 (54'', 73* '^ ; ^^'\/rdd ddgum, *JZ\ K^'"'"'"^ 
frodne, 83^ 93") and 92 (iiij'rd). Its moliv'c- of wretched change of state 
is the leading idea of 27, 73, 83, 93. Like the others of the group of 
ob.scene riddles, Rid. 55 is closely associated with its fellows : its rela- 
tions to 45 have been indicated ; tiU'ic esne appears only 55"', 64'''' ; 55", 
worhte his ici/id/i, is paralleled by 64^, wy reed his wi//an\ 55'-^, M.S. /// 
iciific sele, may be corrected in the? light of 46', /// winele\ 55'", Jhcs 
7Cieorces, recalls the like use of the phrase, 43'. A'id. 56 is nearly akin, 
in its first lines, to 57'" '- ; and c^6*\ sedrolntndeii, also reseml)les 57'' ", 
scanviim . . . gebunden. I'rehn § regards 56 as a companion to 21, 
' Sword ' ; though this is an overstatement, there are certain likenesses 
between the two (sC'-* '', 21" "'•'"'; 56', 21'-, a common formula). I\id. 
57 is not only ass(;ciated with 56, but its vocabulary bears in tw(j 

* ifaupts y.s. xr, 474. t ///>'. XIX, 18J-184. 

t lb. XIX, 197. §P. 279. 



Ixxii INTRODUCTION' 

lines (57'"^) a distant resemblance to 52'*''-^"'. Prehn * fails to establish 
any connection between this and 36. The relation of 58 to the other 
Bird riddles has been discussed at length (si/pra), and its parallels to 
other problems sufficiently indicated (58-\ 28"'^ ; 58^% 50^^'; 58^'', 49'-"^). 
Rid. 59 has no near analogues; but 59^'', dnfete, suggests 33®, 8i^ 93*^; 
gg2-3 repeats the motive of 32 ^ and 59^*''" that of 32". The enumeration 
of strange physical traits (59""^) gives it a place among monster-riddles 
(cf. 33. 81. 86). As we have already seen, 60 is a mate to 49. Rid. 61 
is bound to the other riddles by its companionship in the Exeter Book 
(i22b-i23a) with the second form of 31. Its first lines bear a general 
likeness to 77^"; and 61^'-, scaxcs ord, reappears, 77®. Prehn t has 
pointed out the similarity of 61^ to 32^'i- ", and of 61^--" to 27^-" (cf. 93^^*^). 
The first problems of the so-called second series are closely bound to 
those of the first group. Rid. 62 is an obscene riddle, and, as such, is a 
near kinsman of 26 and 46 (62"^'', 26'^", 46^'^), and of the next coarse 
enigma {()2''\ o/i iicaro\ so 63-). Rid. 63 is thus bound not only to its 
precursor, but to its follower, 64 (63'', 64", ky^), and to the other puzzles 
of double meaning (63^ 55^ 63', 45^ 63^ 26^ nathwier. 46^ 55^ 62^ nat- 
hivcef). The relation of the ambiguous 64'^' to 55 and 63 has been shown 
(supra): but 6^'-^''^^\ for'd boren . . . /^ier gi/»ia/i dritiaid, must be com- 
pared with 56^ -, 57^^"^^ ; and 64*^. »ur . . . (jsse(!f mu/^e, with the rid- 
dles of 'Horn' and 'Cross," 15^, 31''. Rid. 65 is the companion-piece to 
20 {supra) ; and 66 to 26. Dietrich % has pointed out the likeness be- 
tween 66^\ hafa'd mec on headre, and 2i^'\ healde'd mec on heapore. The 
interesting connection between 41 and 67 has been already mentioned. 
Rid. 67 has also something in common with the vocabulary of the frag- 
ment 94 (67-'', n-ohtre feonne tnona ; 94®^^, leofre feonne pis Iro/if call, Icohtre 
ponne 7V . . . \ 67'''', heofonas oferstlj^c, 94'-\ hyrrc ponne /I'vfo/i). Rid. 
68 abounds in words and phrases of the riddle-poetry : 68\ ic gefrcegn, 
46\ 48-, 49I ; 68'-^, wriefl'ice ^aikf, 43\ 52\ 70^ ; t^'^^fet n'e f\olme\ 32'^, 
40^*^ ; 68^^^^, general likeness to 27^'*'^- ; 68^'-^, golde gegierwed, 27^'^ gierede 
mec mid goIde\ 6%^''^% prer guman druncon, 56', 57", 64^; 68^*, since ond 
seolfre., 56''. The opening formula of 37 precedes the one-line folk-riddle 
69. Rid. 70 is related by its subject to 32, but its likeness to other rid- 
dles lies chiefly in its diction, the use of single words found elsewhere in 
the collection: 70-, singe's, 32^; 70'-, sidan and srveora, 73'*, 86*^'" ; 70^", 
orponcum, 78''% purh orponc ; 70^, caxle, 73^®, 86® ; 7o'''\ on gescyldriim, 

* P. 233. t P. 237. \ Hattpts Zs. XII, 250. 



AUTHORSHIP OF THE EXETER BOOK RUDDLES Ixxiii 

^jios. yo''', wrcetrtcie), passim; 70®'', hcehfeum to nytte, 2*j'^'\ si'^, etc. 71 
has many analogues: 71^ ic earn rices ceht, 79\ ic eofu cef^elinges ieht \ 
71^", stid ond sfeap wimg^ 36^'^;* 71'^"'', stapol . . . wyrta wlitetorhtra, 
35""*, />« 7olifig(in 7ayrfum fcEste . . . on sfapolwonge\ 71^''^, 7v~cped for 
gripe milium, 93^^, ni for 7vnnde ziteop. As a riddle of the Sword, it is 
closely connected with problems having the same theme: 71^*, wrafira 
laffyres ond feole, 6'^'', homera lafe {Beow. iot^t,, feia laf 'sword'); 
71^, wire geweorfiad, ai^^-^o^'-^^a . ,^ j6b^ ^.p feg ggid wige'd, 21^^, ic sine 7vege . . . 
gold ofer geardas (' Sword ') ; 71^'', hringnm gehyrsted, 2.1^^'^ f^e nie hringas 
geaf (^ Sword '). Rid. 72 is connected by its subject (' Ox ') and two of 
its motives with the pair 13 and 39 (72^^, feower feah . . . brof^or, 
39^^, flower zvellan, etc. ; 72^°"''^, 13^"^). The misery of the subject 
(72^^^^) is a common riddle-topic (21^', 54^, 81®, 93-^). I have already 
noticed the likeness of 73 to 54 : save in its monster traits (see supra under 
70), it has nothing in common with any other problems. Rid. *j^^,fleah 
mid fuglunt, recalls 23^^, 52'* ; 74*'', d'eaf under y/}e., is identical with 52*^ ; 
and 74^'', hcEfdeferdcwicu, very similar to 11*', 14*^. The tiny runic riddle 
75 is exactly in the manner of other runic problems, 20^"^, 65^ ; while 
the inversion of the runes (75^) recalls 24^ Agof. The single line of 76 
employs the opening formula of 75. Under 61 I have noted the slight 
parallels between that riddle and 77 (77^"'^, 61^'"^; 77®, seaxes orde, 61^^, 
27^""). The closest analogue to 77 is the fragment 78 : 77", mec yfia 
wrugon, 78'', ypum betarigene (compare 3^^) ; 77^'\ fe/^elease, 78'^, \lf\as 
cyn\ 77^^, "Oft ic flode, 78^'', Oft ic flodas. Rid. 'jg, whose single line 
may be but a variant of 8o\ recalls 71^^ {supra). Miiller and Trautmann 
have invited attention to the close relation between the two Horn rid- 
dles, 15 and 80 {supra') : 80^, fyrdrinces gefara, 15^^, fyrdsceotp ; 80""^, 
the serving of mead by the lady, 15^"^ ; So^"**, on wloncum wicge ride, 
Ig6-6.i3-i4. 8o8b^ heard is mln tunge, i5*.i6'i« ; 8o8b'''% \e^^'^-'''^-^^''-JnmIum. 
The mention of honey (mead), 80^, hcebbe tne on bosme pcBt on beattoe 
geweox, recalls the mead of 28^, brungen of bearwum ; and 80^"^, Cwen 
. . . huiitloccedu, suggests 43^'', huniloc. Rid. 81 has an affinity to the 
Storm riddles (81^, s'e f>e ivudu hrereS (wind), 2®, ic wudu hrere (wind) ; 
81^, streamas beatad, 3") ; its monster traits (81^^) invite comparison with 
59""*, 86^'', 37^''"^; and its wretchedness with 21^^ 54^, 72^^ 93'^^ The 
fourth line of the fragment 82, \^f\ell nef^sc, reminds us of 77^. In 83, 
the Ore's sad change of state recalls the themes of 27, 54, 73, 93 ; and 

* Prehn, p. 242, note. 



Ixxiv IN TKOnUCTION 

its l.K-k of ic'clross ^83'*'', /r Iiiin yfJe iic mot^ is akin to the Sword's and 
Horn's faiknc to avenge (^21'". 93'''^). 83'"', Xn m? fa/i ichinid, stioni;ly 
resembles 93'-"', Xn mm /ion/ ^varad/ii/h-iu/c fcoiu/ \ 83''^''. Hubbc ic wiin- 
Jm JdiU reprodnces 22''*'\ /lubbc iviiiu/nr fcla ; and 83'- " contains exactly 
the closini; niotixe of the Sun and Moon ritldles. 30^''^\ 95'" ^^ Kii/. 84 
is more or less intimately connected with many other riddles. Its first 
line is but a variant of 51^ {s///>r,7) \ 84^'-''\ in the theme of Water and 
l'"ish. anticipates 85. while the phrasing; of 84*, JA'./cV /> ///('///>/•()' iiuTrra 
ic'i/i/tj, recalls 42-. nuh/i/or )nonigi\i cyniia ; 84*' '•' bears a general likeness 
to 4o'""'-\ Prehn * discovers a resemblance between 84'''^" and 41^*. 
anil between 84''''antl 4i'' : but this is taint and ma\- well be coincidence. 
And IMetricht hnds a relation between the ' I'aufwasser ' of ^a^^^, jirciw 
</ri'<Fj-iV(X and 31"'' (^cf. 84-'', 31'*"'); but this is very doubtful. The like- 
ness kA 84- ■' " ^^ to the Storm riddles, 2", 3'''', and 4" "\ lies probably in 
the demands of similar subjects. .Vs has just been noted, Kid. 85 treats 
a theme suggested in 84. While the description of ^^'ater. 85"'''', //<"• sua/ 
ri/i/hjii ford, is foinulcd u|ion the Latin of Svmphosius t^see ' Originals and 
Analogues '\ vet it mav be compared with 84'-'', /lij/a'd ry/w stro;ig/u\ and 
84*,y<Ti,'W /V/v7/(/(" /"////^/(/()"<r//v. 85^. /(• ivi/i i-tci/'fre' />()// //<• //?, is quite in 
the manner of 4i''\ /<■ <vw s^cl/^ni />oniic /i? (ci. 4i"-*'''-'^) ; and 85", ///? i>id 
ift\id 7('if(h/. rei)roduces i6^\ ////// bid if^\id -wifih/ (ci. 16''), a phrase found 
onlv here. 85'-'', unc i/ri/itcn s<v/>, parallels 88^". //f/i- ^cstv/ mcotui/. Save 
in its minister traits (^cf. 32. 33. 37, 59. 8i\ Kit/. 86 has little in common 
with other riddles. Its opening formula. Wi/it rwdm gotigixn, recalls 34\ 
]Vi/it rn'om . . . Fi/hin, and 55', Ifysc ricom i:;iini;iin ; and 86-. monigc . . . 
moi/c snoftn\ repeats 84''^ KiJ. 87 is another \ ersion of 38. repeating 
ntanv of its expressions i^s/z/nr) ; while its tirst line, 7corn/>c' /urfi/c rnii/t\ 
connects it with 19', wn/c -iCom/w anil 89'-. ici/it 7C'oml>e /hcft/[t-]. RiJ. 88 
and 93 form a splendid pair, with the theme ' Staghorn.' The nunive of 
brotherlv lo\ c. of which so much is made in 88. is not employed in 93 ; 
but the two motives of dispossession bv vounger brothers and of 
injuries from the knife appear in both ^88''-^ 93^-' '■* ; 88^- '^^ 93'*' \ 
1 have noted the slight likeness oi the fragment 89 to 19. 38, 87. The 
Latin riddle 90. in its formulas (^90*^") and its ' monster ' characteristics, 
is not \er\- different from its neighbins. Vo KiJ. 91 I disco\-er no 
parallels among the riddles sa\e in the use oi the tvrnifiitus motive. In 
its picture of the change from tree to weapon. 92 recalls 54 t^92^'\ bi\im 

t Tp- -5-- 'Sy t ^I- 4t'9- 4^^5' 



.\r iiioKsiii 1' oi' iiii; i;.\i: ii;r hook kiddi.i.s ix.w 

(;// hoIti\ 54\ ('// i'l'iinct- I'Ciiin ; 92*', wy>uistii/>oI, 54'"'', /'ni tirow nucs on 
Wynne \ <)2''\ /iiltfaoiT/^<-n,^/^'-^^\ /ii/,/i\i:[iis/t) ami 73; and 92' ', /'//////v/ /utif, 
is explained by 41'"" '"'. Apart iVoin its close lelatinn to its fellow, 88, 
Kit/. 93 tt)uches nearly niaiu other ])rol)lems ; 93", tl,iy;nmc froii, 54', 
froii dagum, *j'^^ gcarinn frodnc, 8^^,/n>i/ 7C't<w min fromcynn \ 93', sturlc 
hli/>o, 3'. 4-"; 93'", 13', 16-", 63' * ; 93"* l^ 27^ 6li'^ {sii/^ra) ; 93"", nc 
for wi/nt/i' 7i'7-(i/>, 71*^", J!'t/>t'd' . . . for gripe m'iniim\ 93'""", lack of re- 
venge, 21*'', 83*'; 93-\ /<• iigliiicix ealle /niiige, 81", Ag/Uc dreoge; 93-'-, 6**; 
93"" "', -^yi^ if Mire S7('e/ge iviidtt onJ 7t'<<-//v, 27'', b'camtelgc s7c<t\rlg\ 93'''"", 
2^7 10. ^2'-", 83'* '* {yiif^ra). 1 ha\x- poiiileil out under 67 (he n-la(ioii ol 
the Ira^nu'ut 94 to that '('ii'ation" riddle. As has luxai shown, lutl. 95 
is hound by nearh' all ol its nioliws to its male, 30 [s//f/'ii). Through 
its eloseness to men, its wanderings, its lore, and its silem-e, the subji'il 
recalls a riddle of like ihenu-, 40 (95' ",40' '' ; 95'', 40"' '" ; 95" '', 40'' ■'-'-'- ; 
95"'", 40'-). k'ilf. 95 eniploNs the phrases ol other pfoblenis : 95', It' 
com iiii/iylitcn onJ iorltnii iii?i, 44', /<• 7i'<7/ imiryhtne ic/h'liim dcorne \ 95'", 
riti/r/i 0/1, f /itttninn, 33'"', ritc ond litai!c\ 95", snotfrc mm, 9>t'^, n/onig- . . . 
n/i'dr snottrr, 84'", nion mode snottor. The closing;' motive of 95 is found 
not onl\- in 30''' ", but in 83'- ^ (sipni). 

Such likenesses as 1 ha\i" pointed out bi'twetai (he \arious riddles are 
suHicienth' strikinj;; to establish honioi;ent'i(\-, and indet'd tlu'v oKen com- 
pel belief in (he presence of a single hand in man\- of (he pmbk'ms. I'.iil 
bring fails coniple(el\' (o grasj) the tiin- th.uacda' of (he enijMuas of the 
Exeter Book when he deelaies : f ' W ie man bei einer Sanunlung \dn 
Volkslieder'schwerlieh an i-inen ein/igen W-ifassei' dcnki-n wird, so daif 
man es nieines eraehtens elu'nsowenig bei diesen Riitseln, die mit geringen 
Ausnahmen doeh audi (.'in I'lodukt ck'r \\)lkspoesie sind.' It is obviously 
absurd to class our riddles with folk-songs. As 1 ha\e long since shown, | 
thcv teem with popular elements and moli\es, but (hev aic almos( with- 
out exception literary enigmas from (he hand of (he artist. In such com- 
positions as the poems of the Storm (2. 3, 4), Badger (16), .Sword (21), 
Hook (27), Lance (73), Water (84), and (he Horn cycle (15, 80, 88, 93). 
the reader soon becomes aware that (he riddle is the least part of itself, 
that concealment of .solution has bec-n foigotten in the jov of (.-reation. 

♦See I'relm, p. 260, note. 

\ Liu. HI. XII, 1891, Sp. 156, cited with liearty appiov;il l)y lU'i/folil, /fcrrii^s 
Archil' CVI (N. S. VI), 1901, p. 390. 

I M. L. A'. XVIII (19OJ), 97 f. ; see also .uipra. Cf. Hiaiull, lirmuiriss- II, 972. 



Ixxvi INTRODUCTION 

Even, in the shorter problems, the riddle-maker, draw though he may 
from the stores of the folk, shapes anew with loving art the story of the 
ingratitude of the Cuekoo (lo), the fate of the Ox (13), the labors of 
the Plow (22) and the Rake (35), the journeys of the Ship (33) ; or 
else, by the aid of runes, converts into logogriphs or word-riddles of the 
study such commonplaces of folk-poetry as the themes of the Cock (43) 
and Man on Horseback with Hawk (20, 65). Even in the small number 
of riddles which, in tense, terse, pointed style and absence of epic breadth, 
in freedom from all that is clerkly or bookish, seem to bear clearly the 
stamp of popular production (53, 58, 66, 70, etc.), the many parallels to 
other problems (s///>nr) mark the presence of the craftsman. In those 
very ])uzzlcs whose smut and smiles point directly to a humble origin 
(26, 45, 46, 55, 63) we detect (supra), amid the coarseness of the cottage, 
the leer of a |:)rurient reworker. 

The Riddles, then, are homogeneous in their artistry. One of the 
finest proofs of this lies in the striking circumstance that almost every 
dark saying or obscure periphrase in our poems finds illuminating ex- 
planation elsewhere in the collection. To indicate a few examples out 
of many : 8i"'\ si' pe wudii /i/rn'S, is revealed as ' the wind ' in the light 
of 2**, ic wild II Ji)rrc\ 80*', Hivbbe m? 011 bos me. /net 0/1 beancc ^eweox, is 
inter]3reted by reference to the description of Honey in 28- ; the enig- 
matic phrase brunra beot immediately becomes clear by comparison with 
the picture of the swine, dark and joyous, in the beech wood, 4iio«-i'*7 . 
and QS'', /ii/viidra /ly/it, is seen to be but a circumlocution for /iTid, ' booty,' 
when read side by side with 30''''. The homogeneity of the collection is 
further attested by the dominance in very many of our riddles of the 
two motives of ' utility ' and ' comitatus,' which ]:)lay but a small part in 
other enigmas of the ( )ld English period. These will be discussed at 
length in a later chapter. 

Now if certain art-riddles are found grouped in what is really a single 
collection ; if, moreover, these riddles, after close analysis, are found to be 
homogeneous in their diction ; if, too, large collections from single hands 
were common at that period, — the burden of proof rests not upon him 
who argues for unity of authorship, since every precedent and presump- 
tion are in his favor, but upon him who champions diversity of origin. 
The need of such strong destructive evidence is totally disregarded by 
Trautmann in his bald assertion : * ' Diese entstammen verschiednen 

* A'vnewulf, p. 4 1 . 



AUTHOKSHII' OF THE EXETER BOOK RIDDLES Ixxvii 

zciten unci diclilcrn.' Brandl, who holds the same view,* gives, however, 
certain reasons for his 0])inion. The second group seems to him sepa- 
rated from the first by the second appearance of Rid. 31 ; but that the 
Exeter Book modernizer or scribe chose to insert in a position isolated 
from both groups a variant version of a riddle already given proves, of 
course, nothing against the unity of the collection. The contrast between 
the edifying tone of certain enigmas and the coarseness of their near 
neighbors seems at first sight to indicate different hands : but the points 
of contact between the lofty and the low often forbid such a conclusion. 
Runes and ribaldry meet in RicL 43, court and cottage clash in Rid. 62 ; 
the literar)' and the popular blend in Rid. 13 and 64 ; Rid. 66, with its 
Symphosius motive, is closely related to Rid. 26, the grossest of its greasy 
sort. Subject-matter is evidently small criterion of origin. 

l*\irther evidence against the unity of the collection is furnished by 
Barnouw.f The Riddles differ so widely from one another in their use 
of articles that if this be a trustworthy test of date, they may well be re- 
garded as the products of different periods. ' Some of them that employ 
articles freely (24, 43) may be contemporary with Cynewulf, while others 
that are sparing in the use of these (16, 23, etc.) are doubtless earlier in 
time.' Deductions drawn from such evidence are dangerous ; and one 
refuses to follow Barnouw when he goes to the length of assigning Rid. 
38, 39, 69, to a later date than Rid. 30, 35, 37, because in the former 
group the opening formula is ic /^a wiht{e) geseah, in the latter ie 7i>i/if 
geseah. X T^he weak adjective without an article is to Barnouw proof of 
an early date, and he differentiates the Riddles accordingly. § He regards 
Rid. 13 as one of the oldest of the riddles on account of the absolute use 

« 

of weak adjective without article in the phrase hygegala7i hond{\'^'^). The 
survival of an archaic " form in a poetical text is surely no proof of 
antiquity. || 

* Pauls Grttndriss'^ II, 970. 

+ De7- bestimmte Artikel iin Altenglischen, p. 211. 

\ Barnouw (p. 211) notes that the following riddles are quite without articles: 
3, 6, 9, II, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 37 (1-8), 51, 52, 53, 58, 59, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 72, 
74, 80, 83, 85, 86, and the fragments 19, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82, 87, 89, 92. 

§ In addition to instrumental forms already cited (4'*"', 41&" .90.94^ 57""^")! Barnouw 
records the following instances of weak adjectives without an article: 4^ beariit 
brddan (?) ; 4'*2, eo7'pan gesceafle ; 38^, niccgenrdfa moii\ 41^^ Itrivi heorngrimma \ 
49*', readan goldes (contrast 52", 56'') ; 831^ dyrnu cru-ftes \ 93^^"^-, /idra . . .for si. 

II Note the appearance of weak adjectives without definite articles in a late 
poem, Brtitianburh, 61-62, saloauigpadait and liyriiednebban. 



Ixxviii INTRODUCTION 

Although liarnouw's arguments have been aeeepted b\' Hrandl in his 
Gntiii/riss article as infallible criteria of date not only of the /\'/t/(//(\, but 
of all other Anj^lo-Saxou poems, the\- seem lo me to earr\- litlle weight. 
The normalizing- of later scribes,* and • the tendency to archaize, to use 
traditional formulas and expressions, so strong in Anglo-Saxon poelr\-,' t 
render this test almost \alueless. The use of the article in eail\- (ireek 
poetry is closeh' analogous to that in Old Knglish verse. But the classical 
scholar, who, on account of the absence or presence of articles, assignetl 
the \ariovis fragments of Alcaeus to different hands, ascribed tlu" tragic 
choruses of Aeschylus to an earlier date than the non-hric portions of 
the dramas, antl labeled as llonn-ric in lime the c\nc (.onxentions of 
Apollonius Ivhodius, would be speedih' lauglu-d out of court. 

A nuuh moi'e im|)ortaiU argument remains —that based upon the 
e\ idence lurnisheil b\- the usi.' o( sources. W'e lia\e alread\- seen th.il, 
with the same data, Hietrieh and llolthaus reached exacth' opposite 
conclusions in regard to the imit\' of the collection. But the yalue of 
their reasiming was im|).iired b\' the incorrectness ol their dat:i — suj)- 
poseilly close literary relations between Latin antl .\ngio-.Sa\on enigmas, 
where often none at all existeil. In the methods ol direct antl indirect 
btirrowing that our stuil\- o{ the sources o( the se\eral problems t has 
re\eaieil, there are but few certain indications of difference o( origin. 
'I'he habit oi mind which either woiks in perfect liberty, or else, gather- 
ing a useful hint lure, a liapp\- phrase ihere, giyes tlelightfiilK- fresh and 
new fornis to current moti\es and ancii.'nt traditions, but which neyer 
yields itself sla\ishly [o its models, is the dominant mootl in the A'ii/tf/rs 
and points lather to one pt>et ot tree spirit than to man\ men ot many 
times. Antl \et all the /'Av/tv /x'ok A'/)/t//ty can hardl\- be from one hanil. 
The serxilely imitati\e temper i^i Aldhelm's translator in the enigmas of 
the • M.iil-co.it ' and 'Creation' (^A'/'i/. 36, 41) differs so utterl\- from the 
])reyailing tone o{ the collectii>n, which is at its highest in the vmchecked 
range oi imagination o( the ' .StiM'm ' ritldles (2-4), that this inferit)rity 
cannot be explaincil with Hietrich Iw the changing inclination of tine 
pt>et. ^ As will be shown later in \u\ notes tt) AVi/. 41, there is good 

♦Notice the tlilYereiue in this leganl between the E.xeter and Vercelli texts 
of Si'i//. t See Lawrence, J/. /. .\'. XXI\', 1 5.'. 

t See chapter i^ii ' Originals and Analogues.' 

§ It is interesting to note that these two problems, which stand so widely apart 
from all the others in their dependence upon learned sources, have other very dis- 
tinctive features: (a) the poor technique of /\/\/. 41; (b) the isolation of the 



soi.i'TioNS OF Till'; i:xi';'ri:K j-.ook kiddi.iis iwix 

reason l(t Ijc'licxt' that yd anotluT hand was at woik in the later portion 
of that lon^- and dreary ])oem, and that tliis hand revvrought his crude 
work in A'/V. 67. Ikit these poems arc the only ones in the collection 
that we can assign with any positiveness to a different author.* 

Let us now summarize our results. 'J'he Kiddlfs were not written by 
Cyncwulf : all evidence of the least value speaks a<;ainst his claim. It 
seems fairly certain that they are products of the North, j 'J'heir place 
as literary comjjositions (not as folk-iiddles) in one ccjllection, and their 
homogeneous artistry, which finds abundant vindication in a hundred 
common traits, argue strongly for a single author, though a small group 
of prol)lems brings convincing evidence against complete unity. That 
their period was the beginning of the eighth century, the heyday of 
Anglo-Latin riddle-poetry, is an inviting surmise unsustained by proof. 



IV 

SOLUTIONS OF TfIL KXLTKR BOOK RILDLLS 

ITnlikc the Latin riddles of their period, the Anglo-Saxon queries are 
unaccompanied by their answers. In six problems, however, the ingen- 
ious use of runes guides the solver to his goal. In two of these % the 
runic element is so elaborate and complex that it converts the poems 
into intricate name-riddles; in three others § the 'open sesame' is 
found in an easy rearrangement of the runic letters ; in the sixth || the 
last two lines constitute a runic tag that confirms an already obvious 

Northumbiian version of Rid. 36 from all other English riddles, and its associa- 
tion in tlie Leiden MS. with the Anglo-Latin enigmas with which it is so closely 
connected in thought ; (c) the differentiation of Rid. 36 and 41 from neighboring 
()ueries of their group {Rid. 31-61) by the subject's use of the first person. 

* Even the obscene and the runic group, which seem to fall into two distinctive 
classes apparently remote from the others, reveal upon e.xamination points of con- 
tact. By recasting, the poet makes coarse folk-products his own. 

t The Northuml)rian dialect of the Leiden Riddle proves nothing, as its variant 
ve.sion, Rid. 36, stands entirely apart from others of the collection except 41 ; but 
Northern origin is attested by the large number of uncontracted and unsynco- 
pated forms demanded by the meter, and by the appearance of such Anglian 
usiges as bict; (5"), sa-cce {x'j'^), geouge (22-), ehtin^ie (37''), e&&(t (44'"), /("/^ (72"). 
See Madert, pp. 126-127. t '"^'d- 20, 65. 

i Rid. 25, 43, 75. The third of these is but a fragment, but in the first and 
second the Sackenrdtsel element dominates. || Rid. 59. 



Ixxx IN TKODreTIOiN 

iiUcrprctation. In a seventh ritldlo * the Latin equivalents ot [)reeeding 
l'',n_L;lish \vt)r(ls are tlisguised in secret script. In thiee otlier riddles! 
the marginal use ot' siuL^le runes c)b\i()uslv originated at a far later 
peri(xl than that of their composition, as these are not from the hand 
of the scribe. [n\ersion of its opening nonsense-word gives, as the rid- 
dler tells us, the name of the subject of one of the spirited weapon- 
riddles, t 1' inallw the faint letters in i)ther writing at the end of the 
long 'Creation" enigma § mav be read as //// is s/<> crcafiira //'. Such 
are our clews in a dozen problems. || 

These, however, were of but slight aid to the lirst modern scliohu' who 
presenti'd an\- .solutions. I lickes insert eil lacsimile transcripts of five runic 
riddles 11 in the beginning of his Lrlaniiic Grammar.** As Conybeare 
says quaintiv ;it ' llickes' opinion (of these riddles) is formed from the 
attributes ascribed to the mvsterious subject, such as lieing appointed by 
Christ to encounter warfare ; speaking in man\' tongues ; gix'ing wisdom 
to the simple; rejoicing in persecution; found by the worthy; and re- 
ceived bv those who are washed by the laver, etc." It Conybeare's own 
attempts at .solution are almost as unfortunate as those of Hickes. Vox 
Rid. 3-4 he supplies the answer ' Sun," for 33 ' Wagon or C^u't," for 47 
' Adam, F.ve, two of their sons and one daughter a|)pear to be the five 
persons intended." He is nearer the mark in his answer to 67: 'The 
omnipresent power of the deity comprehending at once the most minute 
and v;ist portions of his creation is intended.' 

Manv scholars have sought \.v> solve the problems. §§ L. (". Miiller || || 
offered to RiiL 6 and 27 the solutions Scutum and IJbcr. riu)mas 

* RiiL 37. t Kiii. 7, g, 18. \ Kid. 24. § Kid. 41. 

II Strobl, Haiifts Zs. XXXI, 55-56, claims that the so-called I/iishjnif.': Messng^e, 
which follows A'/(/. 61 in the Exeter Book, furnishes the correct answer to that 
enigma, ' Der Runenstab.' Rut the theory that the two poems form thus a sort of 
//'c7/i,v,//<7// completely collapses, if, with Dietrich, we interpret the riddle, ' Reed,' 
as I think that we must (see notes). 

IT AV</. 20, 25, 37, 65, 75. From his copy of 37 ('.rein drew the facsimile at the 
close of his Pibliotliek. ** Thesaurus III, 5. tt Illustrations, p. 210. 

X\ Ilickes's comments are interesting. After a Latin analysis of each of the r d- 
dles copied by him, he cites passages at random from other problems, particularly 
from those of Sun, Night, Badger, and Mead (7, 12, 16, 28), to show that their 
solution is Ecelesia : e.g. 28", in byJene (the ' butt ' in which the Mead is prepared) 
receives the surprising interpretation : /';/ dolio, i.e. /// baptisterio. 

§§ For brief summaries of the work of solvers, see Wiilker, Gruntlriss, pp. i63- 
167, and Trautmann. .luxlia. />'/'. V (1S94), 46 f. 

nil Colleitaiiea A Ui^lo-.Saxoiiira. 18^5, pp. 63-64. 



SOLUTIONS OF THK KXHTER HOOK KIDDLKS Ixxxi 

Wright* ])r()p()sc(l three answers: to Rid. 14 ' IJuttertly-coeoon,' to 29 
'John Barleycorn,' and lo 47 "Lot with his two daughters, and their 
two sons.' In the same year, 1842, Thorpe f solved the 20th riddle 
with hors, moii, rad-wu'gn, liafoc, and the 22d with ' Plow.' ISouterwek % 
suggested ' lleiiip" in Rid. 26. Leo § proposed ' ( '\newult ' lor Kid. i. 
Grein II gave lour answers: j\id. 3, 'Anchor'; 4, ' I luriicane ' ; 48, 
'Bookmoth'; 68, 'Winter.' Then followed, in 1859 and i860, the two 
cpoeh-making essays of Franz Dietrich, 11 in which he unlocked the 
treasure-gates of nearly all the riddles. By far the greater number of 
his solutions seem to the present editor adequate interpretations of the 
several problems, and attest the fine acumen or riddle-sense which com- 
pelled Dietrich to weigh each enigma not as a scholar in his study, but 
as a man among men of naive minds.** 

Since 1 )ietrich's day a little has been added, here and there, to our 
understanding of the queries ; but in many <;:ases other keywords — 
'Open Wheat,' 'Open Rye' — have been futilely substituted for his 
'Open Sesame.' In his Sprachschatz (1861), Grein is more than once 
happy in his guesses, ft and Ed. M tiller's comments of the same year are 
often suggestive. 1 1 

For over twenty years the Kiddles found no new solvers. In 1883 
Trautmann§§ offered the answers. Kid. i, ' Riddle,' || || and Kid. g^, 

* Biograpliia Britannica Literaria I (1842), 79-82. t Codex Exo7iieitsis, p. 527. 

I Cicdmoii's des Angelsachsen biblisclie Diclituitgeit, 1854, I, 310-31 1. 
§ Quae de se ipso Cyneioulfus tradiderit, 1857. 

II Bil'l. der ags. Poesie II (1858), p. 410. 

^ Ilaupts Zs. XI, 44S-490 ; XII, 232-252. 

** Dietrich errs, I think, in his explanations of A'/V/. 5, 9, 11, 14, 29, 37, 42, 46, 
5i> 52. 53. 55' 63, 65, 71, 72, 74, 80, 81, 90, 95. His answers to Kiii. 31 and 40 are 
more than doubtful. In his second article, which is often a palinode of his first, 
he withdraws (usually at the prompting of his friend Lange, no riddle-kenner) very 
suitable replies to J\id. 18, 26, 45, and 58. T^ach of his solutions will be discussed 
in my notes. 

tt Notably in his 'Bell' answer to /\/</. 5 (II, 716) — suggested l)ut withdrawn 
by Dietrich — and in the ' Ox ' solution of Kid. 72. 

\\ Die Rdisel des Exeterbuc/ies, Programm der herzoglichen Ilauptschule zu 
Cothen, 1861. Miiller's remarks upon A'id. 13 and 39, 15 and 80, 2, 3, 4, 9, 28, 30, 
59, 61, 63, 71, 74, 80,85, 86,87, merit attention. Had Trautmann known his ' Horn ' 
interpretation of /\id. 80, he would surely not have heralded this solution as an 
original discovery forty years later {BB. XIX, 1905, 203-206). 

%%Aiig//ii VI, Ans., pp. i5Sf. See also ib. VII, Anz., p. 210. 

II II The later history of the discussion of the ' First Riddle ' is sketched elsewhere 
in this Introduction and will not now be considered. 



Ixxxii iNTKonrfiioN 

* Rukllo.' In iho same vcar Pichn iniblislu'd his discussiiMi of the sources of 
the A'/i/(//c's* cinpliasiziiii;' 1 )icti"ieh"s solutions. Reviewing Trehn's work.t 
llolthaus aeceiiled Trautniann's t\vi> interpretations. Xuek t cijiposed 
the solutions oi Trautniann. and lliekelier§ re\ i\ ed Leo's solution of 
AV</. I, argued against I'rautinaiui's answer to 95. discussed 90, and 
suggested readings of the runic problems 20 and 65. According to 
Henrv Morlev,|| the soliuion of AV*/. i is ' The Christian iSeacher," of 
61 ' Letter-beam cut from the stump of an old jettv.' of 90 ' The Lamb 
of God,' and of 95 'The \\'ord of (uhI.' ILnzfeld'i soKes AW. 46 by 
' Oough" and 51 bv 'Fire." In his excellent versions of over a thiiil of 
the AV(A//(\. Bix)oke ** accepts the answers of Dietrich and I'tehn exceiit 
in AV,/. II, which he interprets as • IJarnacle (n)ose." 

In 1S04 Trautmaim published tf a great number of solutions with no 
further support than an //sr Jixlt. 'I'hese answers, by reason of their 
seeming remoteness from anv obvious interpretations of the text, have 
sometimes been regarded as random guesses. |$ In subsecpient articles $5? 
he has withdrawn or chann)ioned several of these obiter i/ida. liut. as I 
ha\e pointed out,|| || lack of historical method, perversion of the meaning 
of the text, and arbitrary assaults upon its integritv discredit nearlv all 
his answers. 'ill 

* A't'tnposithviin iinJ t^twiU'ii dcr A\'ifsc/ >i'cs F.xeterbnches. 

t Afti^Ua Vn. Atiz., p. I JO. 

XAngUa X (iSSS). 300 f. 

§ ' Fiinf Riitsel des E.xeterbuohes,' .7//^/' .' ^' 5'M- 

li KtigUsh Writers II (iSSS), 38, 224 f. 

"{Die KiUscl itcs Exeterbmhis iind ihr J'er/iis.ur, 1S90, p. 69. 

** Juuly Ens^lis/i Literature, \Sc)2, /iissim. 

tt Arix/ui, BeiHiitt V, 46 f. 

\\ Uruiull, however, seriously inip.uis the value of his discussion of the KiaJ'es 
{Pauls GriiPiiiriss- II, looS, 960-1)73) by accepting wilhovU question many of these 
unsustained solutions. 

§§.-/wj."-/',' X\ll (1895), 306-400 (AV./. 53, 58, 90); Padelfovd's Old En^i^^tis/i 
Musical Terms, 1890 (AV</. 9, 32, 61, 70, 86); J^B. XVII (1005), 142 (AV./'. 11); 
ib. XIX (1905), 167-215 (AV.A II, 12, 14, 18, 26, 30, 31, 45, 52, 53. 58, 74,80. 95). 

nil J/. /.. X. XXI (1006), 07-105. 

Tfl' Of the solutions originating with 'l'i.uitniani\ himself only seven compel 
conviction (AV.A 37, • Ship ' ; 52, ' Ten and Fingeis ' : 53, ' Flail " ; 63, ' Poker ' ; 68, 

• Hible ' ; 81. ' Weathercock ' ; and 92, ' Beech "). He is seemingly unaware that 
several of his most plausible answers have been given long before by other 
scholars — notablv 61, ' Runenstab,' by Morley and Strobl ; 72, ' 0.\,' by Grein 
and Brooke: So. • Hoiii," bv Kd. Miiller. 



soLi'TioNs OF I'lii': i;.\i:ti:r hook kiddi.iis Ixwiii 

Several scholars Iiavc contrihuU-d lluir miles to ihc sohilions of single 
cjueries. W'alz discusses some six of these in his ' Notes on the Anglo- 
Saxon Riddles,' * reaching, I think, incorrect conclusions. f lilackburn 
inleiprets Kid. 31 as l>7aifi,X l'"rl. Sonkc Kit/. 25 as ' Scurra ' or 
' Mime,' >i and Felix Liebermann || and Jordan If arrive independently at 
the 'Sword-rack' solution of the '("ross' riddle (56). The Krlemanns 
have cast much light ui)on the ' Storm ' riddles (AVi^/. 2-4)** and upon 
the Latin enigma, ft and llolthausen has once or twice turned aside 
from text emendation to try riddle-locks. $t I have alrcaxly suggested 
several new solutions, §§ and shall alU'm|)t a few others in the present 
work. II II .Ml the answers indicated in this cursory sketch will receive 
consideration in the notes of this edition (see also the ' Index of Solu- 
tions " at the close of the l)ook).inr 

In closing this survey, let me repeat what I have said in a previous 
discussion.*** The solution of riddles is too uncertain a matter to permit 
their soKer ' to come to battle like a dictator from the plow.' To the 
same motives different solutions are often accorded by the folk itself, as 
1 have shown at length. ftt It was, of course, the purpose of the riddler 

* Harvard Studies V (1S96), 261-268. 

tills answers, 'Gold' (12), 'Porcupine' (16), 'Mustard' (26), 'Cloud and 
Wind' (30), 'Yoke of Oxen led into the barn or house l)y a female slave' (53), 
and 'Sword' (80) are sturdily but unconvincingly chanipioned. 

\ Journal of Ccrinaiiic Philoloi^y III, ]}. 4. 

%Evglische Stttdien XXXVII, 313-318. 

II Ilerrigs Archiv CXIV, 163. 

% Alteiiglische Sdugetieniaiiicii, p. 62. 

** Edmund Erlemann, Ilerrigs Archiv CXI (1903), 55. 

tt lb., p. 59; Fritz Erlemann, ib. CXV, 391. 

X\ See his solutions of Rid. 11, ' Water-lily' {Aiiglia, Bh. XVI, 1905, 22S) ; 16, 
'Porcupine' {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 206); and his readings of Kid. 20 [Aiiglia, 
JUk IX, 357), 37 {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 208), and 90 (ib., 210-21 1). 

\%Kid. 14, ' Ten Fingers ' (yl/. /,. .A'. XVIII, 1903, 101-102); 74, ' Siren ' (ib., 
100; XXI, 1906, 103-104) ; and 95, 'Moon' (ib. XXI, 104-105). 

nil See particularly notes to Rid. 20, 37, 40, 42, 56, 71. 

1f1[ In chronicling in my Notes the ' Onion ' and ' Leek ' answers for Kid. 26 and 
66, I fail to remark that 'Leek' is impossible for either riddle. 'A leek is never 
" red" like the wight of 26, the bottom of the leek being blanched like celery for 
use, while the top is of course green ; and a leek is always eaten in the year of 
sowing or in the following winter, has never been planted out in the second spring, 
and hence cannot be the wight of 66, which has l)een dead and lived again ' (Hying- 
ton). The ' Onion ' satisfies all conditions. 

*** ^r.L.x. XXI, 97-98. ttt lb, will, 5-6. 



Ix.wiv INIKODliCllON 

1(1 Ic.id liis Ihmhts miIk iii:iii\ (ic\i(His |i,illis, c.n li nl \\lii(li seemed, lor 
(lie inoinenl, ihe <inl\ \\;\\ n\ I'scape Ihmii llie iii,i/e ; .mil Ins eiiimin^' 
has lieen iiiliK lew.iideil l>\ llie I, lie nl iiindeiii MiKeis.* In Ins seeniid 
.iili(le hielihli lelr.iels ,i do/eii S( iliil ii ms dl his liisl.j and Tiaiilmaini 
liankh and lieel\ ehan;;i'S ;;r(innd ni man\ pn ihlems. A'/i/. ii, (met' 
soKed li\ him ' lluMile," is now 'Anehni '; :^o. NumeiU 'Swallnw and 
Spaiinw ,' is now • llnd and Wind ' ; ^^i , " ( i n nheld m eai ,' now heeomes 
luiiiii. Ill 5-?, ■ 1 Inise and \\ ajMHi " is !i:;hl!\ i<|ilaeed li\ ' Ten " ; in 53, 
' III iidin ' li\ ■ Idail ' ; and in 80, • Speai ' In ' limn.' I n 58 he n-eaiils his 
iceanlalK Ml, |)assiii;', in siieeessi\c ailieli's Imm ■ I lailslones ' in ' Kam 
drops," ;md ihen lo ' Sim iiu loiids. ' Wilinn li\e \i'ais I ha\e modilied 
in\ own \ie\\s ol as main piohlems. | Xolhin;.;. iheieloic, seems more 
unwise llian len:;lli\ and si 1 einions doinnali/iiiL; o\i'r opinions w hieh ma\' 
lo moi low he a ha lido I led li\ I hen i haiiijiion. 



V 



KOKM AND S rUlHI'l'KI'. Ol' 1111 1 Xl I'i.K I'.OOK KlDDl.l'.S 

Siiue ihe I'splosion ol ihe alliaili\i' lei;end ol ( '\new iilliaii aiilhor- 
ship, il has heeii oh\ionsl\ impossihle lo asii ihc- with eonluK-iuc all lIu" 
liddles ol ihe /■'.vr/n />',','X- to a sinjde eiii;',malo:;i aph, allhoiijdi iiian\ ol 
ihem nuisl ha\e emiie liom one hand. rhe\ lluaeloie helon:; to (piite 
anothei elass than the ;;ronps ol .\n;;lo I .atiii prohlems ol the ei;;hlh 
ieiitm\, eaeh ol whiih is associated ii;ditl\ with one j'.ieat name, and in 
e.ieh ol wliuh the oidei is tli.il ol eomposilioii. .\tlem|)ls like th.it ol 
I'lehn § lo est.ihlish 1 01 the I'll; dish poems ,111 \ nnit\ ol pm pose 111 ehoiee 
ol siili|eets ,iiid iiialei iai h,i\ e heiai si;mi.iII\ nnsueeessl uI. lUit it is I'lju.ilh' 
wimi;', tou-i\iid this eolleetion, w ith Hiilhi inrJi and I lei .leld,*! as .1 ;;lean 
in:', ol lolk liddles, like, lor lA.imple, th.it ol K.mdle I loline.*** As I h,i\o 
alie.uK pointed out,! | our piohlems .ue .n t luldles ( /\//>/.\/r,'!/\,-/) with a 
lai!',e .illo\ ol popul.u (.■lements. I'heii .iiithoi 01 .luthors, like the ("uT 
man t-nijMn.itojM.iphs ol the sixteenth ientm\, iliew quiti' as lrc-i'l\ Irom 



* Sci- |!i:uull, J\i:i!s lir///i,i//ss'^ 11, 07-- 

t A/./. 9. 18, 26. 28, 38, 49, 56. 58. 74, 81. 86. 90. 

t A'/./. a6, 31, 37, 42. 53. v; I'p. 1 |St. || / /// A'/., i,S<)i, ."<p. 1 5(). 

II //nrii^x Ar,/iir CVI (N. S. \ 1), icku, p. ;>)o. 

**r.M.J..A. XV I II (i.)oj), Jilt. i I .1/./. .\. will ^igo.O. 07 f. 



KOKM AND STRUCTURE OF Till: UlDDLliS Ixxxv 

myth and tradition as from learned sources.* In tlie runic riddles f 
a|)|)fal is made- to a 'bookish' audience ; t but tiie riddler, here as well 
as elsewhere, composes with his eye not only on his subject but on the 
l)uzzled faces of men who will listen to his dark sa\'in^s. 

Tri'lin § believes that oral transmission of tin- Riddh's is firmly estab- 
lislud 1)\ llu' ' Wandering Singer' interpretation of Rid. 95, and we may 
saiiifut- this solution || without abandoning his conclusion. Ample evi- 
ck'iicc ol till' tiuth ol this is lound not onl\' in ihc passage iVoin Rid. 43 
already cited, but in inan\- other placx's in the pot'ins. ( )iu' indication of 
such direct addrc-ss cc-itainl\' lit's in ihc opi'iiing and closing formulas, 
that make an inunediate appeal similai' lo those in the folk-riddIes.1| Or 
let us note the thirstily hinted hope- of ii'ward near the closi- of (he 
second lloi'n liddle.** k'recpu-iU n'ferences to llu' wine-hall ft seem to 
mark this as the .scene ol tlu- liddles" piopounding and soKing. The 
different versions of Rid. 31 and 36 |)oint lo oral tiansmission.H l!ut 
the highest ])roof of directness of appeal lies in the epic nature of the 
treatment of manifold themes, as 1 )ietrich recognized. $§ This will be 

* Folk-lore and mythology are freely invoked in tlie riddler's IreatnunU of tiie 
.singing feathers of the Swan (8), the ingratitude of the (.aickoo (10), the strange 
origin of the Barnacle (loose (11), the metamorphosis of the Sirens (74). 

t Nos. 20, 25, 43, 59, 65, 75. 

X 43', hHiii J>£ l>i'<: 'ciittiii, means, as the context clearly shows, ' those who know 
letters or rune-staves,' but they are rather hearers than readers ; /(■ 011 /liild Dnrt;- 1 
/>ur/i rfiiistafas riiiciiin .<:eci^an. § 1'. 1.^7. 

II I have proved, J/. /,. A'. XXI (1906), 104-105, tlial tlu; last ritldk; is a male 
to Nid. 30, and refers to the wanderings of the Moon. 

T[ Prehn, j). 152, points to 2', 29^-, 32"'^'', 33''', 36^'', 37'-, 40-", 42^, 44", 50", 60'"'. 

** Oft ic lod&boran wordleana sum \ di^y/e ti-fler gieddd (8o'* '"). It is significant 
that 7vd&l>or(in is applied to riddle-kenners (32-'') and that .^'/tv/f/ci is the word for 
a 'riddle' (56"). 

tt 43"'^", A/7 is ii)idyiiie\ lOfrKni «V n'liid. C'f. also 2i'-,47', 56', 57", 61'', 64'', 
68'". In the last of these examples, Jxir ^'■/rwd/e drN/ifo// has no particular bearing 
upon tiie subject of the riddle, and is justified only by the riddler's surroundings. 

It Ago/ior Agob (24^) seems a mistake of tiie ear. 

§§ //(/«//jZj'. XI,448: 'Wo das Epos, sei es im Gleichnis <>der iin unniillclbaren 
I )ienst seiner Geschichte, Naturgegenstande beschreil)i od(M duich IJnisclirei- 
bungen andeutet, niihert es sich dem Riitsel, nur dass es den Nanien da/.u im 
crsieren Falle nennt ; umgekehrt bewegt sich das wahrhaft poetisclie Riitsel 
iiach den Kreisen des I'lpos hin, wenn der Clegenstand des Riitsels, sei er der 
elementaren Natur oder der belelHen, durch Men.schenhand umgeschaffenen, ange- 
horig, erziihlend auftritl, und er selbst oder der Dichter in seinem Nanien un.s 
von seiner lleimat, von Vater und Mutter, von Ikuder und Schwester, von 



Ixxxvi IXTKODICTION 

duly discussed wlicn (he (ovm and manner of our jiocms are con- 
sidered. ]>ut, before such anahsis is [lossihle, the significance of sub- 
ject anil UKiltcr demands attention. 

Nowhere does a. jioet ov school o\ poets proclaim closeness to life 
more plainly than in clioice of themes. .\nd it is here that the preemi- 
nence oi the J-'xt/tr Jn'ok A'/t/t//cs oyer the An>;U)-Lalin enigmas be- 
comes immediately apparent. The English poems smack tar less of 
abstraeticins and of classical ami biblical lore than the jirolilems o\ .\ld- 
hclm ; "^ nor are the\' eked oui w ilh liberal borrowings from Isidore's 
li(v//ioiogi<'s. like those o{ l-'.usebius. NothiuL;' human is deemed too hig"h 
or lo\y for treatment, and all phases oi (, )ld Imi^UsIi existence are re- 
Ncalctl in these jniems ; 1" so that the\- slaml forth as the most impor- 
tant conteinporar\' cimtributions to oiu' kninyledge ot the exeryday life 
oi their time. 'The poet does not hesitate to treat the cosmic aspects of 
nature, the changiiii;" forms of sea and sky, of wind and waye. in tlie 
greatest oi the riddles, the Sti)rm-c\cle [2-^); nor to embod\- into 
an exquisite myth the battle of Sun anil Moon J or the tierce onset of 
the Iceberg {^Klti. 34); but. witlt a few such exceptions. J; the Riddles 
are yery close to solid earth. The larger number is devoted to man and 
his works: his weapons, || his implements of home and jield,*' his 

seinon .'^ilucksalen n.ich seiner \'eitieilning aiis iler lleini.\t. vo» seinei\ TlKiten 
uiul Kiinsten, von Kanijifen und .Vrbeiten, von l.ii.st und l.eiil in lebendiger 
Schildeiung berichlet." 

* It is significant tliat the Anglo-Sa.xon enigma of the Creation is a fairly clo.se 
rendering of Aldhelm's J'>i.- Cri-iifum, adapting, however, its classical allusions 
to the lay understanding (see notes to /Ci\/. 41). AV</. 44, ' Body and Soul,' and 
AV<;'. 47, 'Lot and his Daughters,' are only apparent exceptions to the prevalent 
popular choice of subjects, since the first wi'///"\vas a part of the universal belief, 
and the second a commonplace of riddle-poetry. 

t Kiooke, /."//;,'■. //A /'row iiti l^cgu linings p. I SQ. 

I Contrast with this human handling of elemental conflict (A"/',;'. 30) Aldhehii's 
frigid lines upon the relation of the two himinaries. 

§ Note also the ' Creation ' cycle (41, 67. 94). the riddles *if Sun and of Moon (7, 
30, 40 ?, 95), and those of Water (31 ?, 42 \ 84). 

II See the riddles of Shield (6). Ballista (18). Sword (21), Bow (24), Mail-coat 
(36), Battering-ram (54), Sword or Dagger (71), Spear (73). The Sword plays an 
important part in Rid. 56. 

\ Compare the riddles of Plow (22) and Kake (35) and Hail (53), of Lock and 
Key (45, 91). of Loom (57), of Oven or Churn (55), of Poker (63), of Beaker (64) 
and Drinking-horn (15, 80) and Leather Bottle (19 ?), of the Bellows (38, 87). We 
may add to these such essentials of life as Ship (33, 37), Anchor (17), Well (59), 
and Weathercock (81). The chariot or wain is introduced into A';./. 23. 



FORM AND STRCfTrRI': OF THK RII)I)L1-:S Ixxxvii 

clothes,* many of his iiistrunu'iUs of music, t his books and script,;]: his 
sacivd emblems,^ and even his food and (hink.|| Not onl\' man, but the 
lower animals, lish, flesh, and fowl, receive ample treatment. Many 
beasts, II birds,** fishes, ft and even insects J $ play a lively part in the 
Kiddles. 'i"he plant-world of tree and lk)wer §§ is not neglected. So wide 
is the range of our poems. 

* J\id. 62 is probably a song of the .Sliirt, and tlie (Hove is ' the skin ' of A'li/. 14. 
Shoes are menlioned in A'i,i. 13, and the hricgl and cyrtel in the obscene ricklles 
(45. 46. 55. etc.). 

t See the riddles of liell (5), Ihjrn (15, 80), Bagpipe (32), Reed lUile (61 • "'), 
and Shawm (70). 

I Compare the two ' Book ' ])rol)lems (27, 68), llie enigmas of ISookmoih (48) 
and Bookcase (50), and linally tiie riddles of Ben and Fingers (52), Reed-pen 
(61IO-"), and Inkhorn (88, 93). 

§ See the riddles of the Cross (31 ?, 56) and those of Baten (49) and Chalice (60). 
The ' Book ' problems (27, 68) refer to Holy Writ. 

II Note the ' Dough ' riddle (46) and the reference to Bread or to Butler in the 
last lines of Kid. 55. There are problems of Mead (28) and Beer (29), and the 
chief motif of the ' Night ' enigma (12) is vinous revel. Enigmas of the winecup, 
and the many references to the wine-hall, have already been indicated. 

T[ Badger (16), Steer (13, 39), Horse (20, 65), O.x (72), Dog (75), and Lamb and 
Wolf (go) are subjects of riddles; while the Stag (88, 93), the Boar (41), and the 
Swine (41) are described at length. Of the uncanny things of everyday life, such 
as reptiles and fungi, perhaps the only example is the fen-frog of 4i"k 

** Closely bound together are the IJird riddles, those of Swan (8), Jay (9, 25), 
Cuckoo (10), Barnacle Goose (11), and Swallows (58). Cock and lien (43)and 
Hawk (20, 65) are the themes of runic riddles. Other birds are mentioned, the 
eagle, kite, goose, and sea-mew in Kid. 25, the puzzling pcnicx in Rid. 41 (see 
note to 41"''), and the raven in Kid. 93 (note to 93-'^). 

tt Fish and Flood (85) and Oyster (77 ; cf. 78) are riddle-themes ; and the Whale 
(^i92-94) receives passing notice. 

It The Bookmoth has a riddle to itself (48); a jiicture of the Bees introduces 
the 'Mead' riddle (28); and the snail, the weevil, the rain-worm, the hand-worm, 
the tippiila, all apjjear in Kid. 41, while Rid. 36 shows a knowledge of the silk- 
worm. Zupitza {//<iupt.t Z.w XXXI, 49) compares with the riddler's reference to the 
tiny size of the lioiid7vyri)i (41'-'*'; cf. Aldhelm's Latin) the close parallel in the 
' Wen' charm at the end of MS. Royal 4. \. XIV, miccle lesse, ij/.t7vd dues Iiaiid- 
wiirmes hupebdii ; and he recalls Shakespeare's picture of Queen Mab's wagoner 
(A'. (Sr»y. i, 4, 65), 'a small gray-coated gnat, Not half so big as a round little 
worm Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid (man).' 

§§ The Beech (92, 41^'"') is the only tree to which an entire riddle is devoted; 
but Ash and Oak are mentioned as runic names in Kid. 43"'^", and Yew, Maple, 
Oak, and Holly appear in Kid. 56"^''. The tree in the forest is pictured in 31, 54, 
and 73. .\ general description of plants and flowers is found in Kid. 35"^, 71-"''; 
the Reed (61), the Onion (26, 66), and the Garlic-seller (86) are riddle-subjects; 



Ixxxviii INlKonrc'lION 

All these lidilles, whether the subjeet be aninKiti- or inanimate, have 
at least one eoninion eharaeteristie. theii human inti'iest. This is e\ineed 
in a tii)/en striking \\a\s: but b\ far the most imi)t)rlant of these is a 
trail ol our pioblems, missint; in oiln.'r eolleetions, but so stroni;iv marked 
Iiere as to suj;;i;est a eonunon orii;in lor nian\ ol the ritklles - tlie trait 
ol ulililN . The riiiiller mav nej;leet i)laee and form and eolor of his sub- 
jeet, but he lonstanlK stresses its uses to mankind.* Indeed, men are 
in tlu' baek_i;rouiul oi i'\er\ i iddle pielure ; 1' antl the subject is usually 
viewed in its rt'lation to ihem. The most si^nitieant expression ol this 
relation is found in the moiif <A (."omitatus, or personal ser\iee ol an 
umlerlin;; to his loid and master, ih.u foims the doinin.uu iile.i in many 
o( our poems. I Soinelimes the relalion oi' seiA'iee is of a humbler kiuAl.^ 

A'/i/. 29 lolls oi till' rt'.ipiiij; ami tlufsliiiig i>t the barley; aiul we hear of the .sea- 
weed washed up 011 the beach in 3^*, 41*''. Into the Creation enigma .(41) lily and 
rose .u\d woiiiwNooil .iie .ill inivoiliKed. 

* M.uk the .iiUHMi.uni's of //|7 : 26'-', ne.dilu^e'lndmn nyt : 27-'", ni|'un\ to nytte; 
33''. nioiuvnne nvt ; 35', hvie .vt nytte; 50'', him to nytte; 51'-, diyhtuin to nytte; 
55", 56", nvt ; 59" ''. nvt . . . hyie [nioi\]ihyhtne ; 70'', luvlel'iim to nytte. It is cer- 
tainly signilicaiit th.U in the translation of Aldhclin's (';<•.;////■./ such phiases as 
/f'<'/"///('«(i'////(- (41-'") anil w.c/v A"' Wi'//////w (4i''') h,i\ e no equivalent in the latin. 
Leather {13), Ilom (15I, Hook (27), Mead (28). and ni.uiy lUhei thini;s ucount 
with pride their manifold uses. 

I 2", wadcwealm wera ; 6''. niiil aKUnn ; 7 ', m\rimu cyn ; 8'\ ofer h.x'leha 
bvht ; 9'''', eoiluni . . . ii\ lnnt;uni; 18", men genuman ; 19'-', maddan for mon- 
num; 21'-, for meugo ; 24'', gun\en.i hwv Icum ; 28', weor^ werum ; 30^*"^'', nrenig 
. . . vver.i ; 31"', weras ond wif ; 32''', vvcrum on vvonge: 33*'- '■', gnman biTicaN | 
lice ond heane ; 34" '-. ivldum . . . tiium on folce ; 35', in wera bnrgum; 36^-, 
for h;vle|'um ; etc. 

f Compare A"/./. 2-''' '"', 3" '" ; 4^ min fie.i ; 4'" ''"' ; 4'"', mines fte.m ; 4"'- "■* (each 
of these Storm riddles closes not onlv with foi nuil.i, but with rel.uion tc> loiiU ; 
5''', l-egne miiuim ; s'', hlaford ; 7'"', min fre.i (('>:.:/); i8'"', frea; 21'-, frean minum ; 
21^. waklend ; 3i'-'\ from \\\m he.ildeiule he me hiingas geaf ; 2I-'', frean ; 2i'-^', 
minum l-eodne ; ai'-**' '""^ 22''^-i", hlaford min; 22''*, l>enah; 24", se waldend ; 38'-, 
hegn fidgade ; 44'', esiie |'ena^"; 44''^'\ gif so esnc | his hlaforde hyre^" yfle | frean 
on fore ; 45-, frean (= esne) ; 50'', se wonna l-egn ; 55" ^ I'egn . . . esne ; 56^*^, frean ; 
56'''. his mondvvhtne ; 57'^, minum hl.'iforde |';vr h.vle^' druncon ; 59'' hyre [mon]- 
divhtne; 59" '^ hl.lfordcs gifum, hyreN swa I'tana | l-eodne sinunt ; 62'^, frean 
. . . hoklunt heodne (see notes for wifely service) ; 71*, dryhtne min . . . ; 73**, 
fu'.m mines; 80' ^ ivhelinges ea.xlgestealla, | fyrdrinces gefara, frean minum leof, | 
cyuinges geselda ; 87'-. hegn folgade ; gi'"', fre.m mii^es ; 91'', min hk'ifoid; 93^, 
Frea min ; 93", frea. 

§ The creature is ruled by the hands of a woman in AV./. 51"'. of a lord's daughter 
in AWi'. 46", o( a queen or earl's daughter in AV./. 80'' '', of a churl's daughter in 



FORM AND STRIICTURK OF IllK RIDDLKS Ixxxix 

Again, the immediate effeet of the unknown tiling; upon man is deseribed 
with spirit.* Thus in one way or the other llie close connection of the 
riddle-subject with mankind is revealed. 

Jn a still more potent fashion is life lent to tlie themes of our poems. 
Not only do the subjects of over half liie problems (fifty) speak in the 
first person t as in the Latin enigmas, not only is grammatical gender 
sometimes invoked to the riddler's aid,| but in many riddles the subject 
is quickened into full life. The riddler points to the living souls of his 

/vV(/. 26'', of a dark serving-woman {U\i/e) in A'id. 13 and 53; it is guided l)y a 
swart herdsman (AV(/. 72^"), and is turned by a priest (60). 

* A'h/. 26, 28, 29. 

t AV,/. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, II, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 
28, 31, 36, 41, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85, 86 
(mixture of ist and 3d persons), 88, 91, 92, 93, 95. It is perhaps significant that of 
the last thirty problems of the first group {Kid. 1-60) the only two that employ 
the first-i)erson subject (A'/V. 36, 41) are direct translations from Aldhelni. 

t The importance of grammatical gender in determining the sex of the riddles 
has been greatly exaggerated l)y both Cosijn (/'/?/>'. XXIII, 129) and Trautmann 
(/>'/>'. XIX, iSi), who quite unwittingly are harking back to the mythological 
theories of Max Miiller. In many Riddles, small account can be taken of this by 
reason of three common conditions, (i) The ivi/it of the opening lines leads to 
the use of feminine pronouns throughout the problem : 3o'''8.lo, 32^, 34*^'^, 35*''*'''') 
37-'^, 4o'''',8io.>:'';' 578, 59^'', 68'', 87'"'. In two cases the gender of wi/it is more potent 
than that of the subject, even though the creature is named explicitly : 24'', leiigre 
(24^ Boi^a) ; 25^, glado (25'"^, I/igora). (2) The natural gender of the creature is 
determinative : 131^, s-.vcartne (Steer); 16'', onliiele (Badger mother) ; 39-''', him, he 
(Hull) as contrasted with 39'', hio (iviht) ; 'j'^, yldra (Ox). (3) The masculine and 
feminine gendErs are applied indiscriminately to the subject : 41'-^, streitgre, 41-*', 
wriestre, 41'-'^, betre, 41''^'*, hyrre, and ^1*'^, yldra, /^i^^'^^, brccdre ond ivtdgielra, 41''*, 
heardra, 41'''', hdtra, 41''^, s'tOPtrii, etc. ; 67^'-''', mare, Icesse, /i'ohfre . . . swiftre, and 
67^", me sylfitm ; 36'', mec hewoylitiie, and Lcid. 3, mec biwortlur ; 70I, liyre, and 70'*, 
his; 85^, sylfii, and 85'''', s7viftre . . . s/re//gr<r. Yet there are not lacking indica- 
tions of grammatical gender — upon which, however, it is unsafe to lay undue 
stress, ill the light of the appearance of the neuter ivirtcr as mcdor nioiiigra wilita 
(84''), to whom, however, masculine adjectives are applied (84'"') ; of the relation 
of masculine pronouns in 20^ •' to IIORS; or of the inaptness of masculine reodne 
(26") to the Old English synonyms of Onion {l?ac, cype, etc., none of them mascu- 
line words). Why infer that the use of dnhciga (6^), wicpemviga (15^), eaxlgesteaUa 
(80'), mundbora (18^), has any reference to the masc^iline gender of Shield and 
Horn and Ballista ? There remain these examples: 17^, j/iec stJf>iie (Anchor) ; 2I^ 
»il' 'ii'idgahim (Sword) ; 22^'^'', me goiigeiidre . . . hiiidc-.ceardre (Plow, sy/h) ; 38''''''''^, 
hr . . . him . . .feeder (masc. in spite of ivihtc \ l)ut the same subject is fern, in Kid. 
87); ^o-, deu/ne dttmban (Bookcase); Si^'^"*, iciga . . .hone . . . /or.fhurj/gue {Vhe); 
63''', mee . . . ceftatnveardne (Poker) ; 64, feminine (Beaker) ; 73*^ >ii? . . . frodiie 



XC IXTRODI'CTION 

creatures,* or else lie folKnvs the far more effective method of ascribing 
to beasts or even to inanimate things the traits and passions of men.f 
The |-)oems extol in their subjects sucli esscntiallv human qualities as 
heroic valor and pmwcss.l the love of family and friends, § the jov of 
good works. II grim hatred and malice towards mankind. '[ the loneliness 
of celilxUc and exile.** wisdom and ignorance, tt earthlv fame,|| and 
pride oi place ^^ : or else they dwell sadly and svmpathcticallv upon the 

(Lance) ; 77'''^, /[■^cliiise . . . itnsodene (Oyster) ; 8i^'^^, belcedsiiieorti . . . Jivrel- 
luoiiibiie (Weathercock) ; 88-^-'*, aiiga . . . l>idJ>orleas (Horn) ; 93^°, mec . . . imuiu- 
Xi'cardiie (Horn) ; 94-'', hyrre . . . smcarc (Creation ?) ; 95, masculine (Moon). As 
in many of these cases we cannot know what Angk">-Sa.\on word the riddler had 
in mind, it is hardly wise to assert even here that his choice of se.x w.is always 
determined by the grammatical gender of his subject. 

*^V</. 11'', ha^'de feorh cwico ; i4'\ luvfdon feorg cwico ; 74% h.xfde feriN 
cwicu. 

t Ebert {^Berichte iihcr die J'c-r/t. der k. sachs. GcscUsch. 1S77), p. 24, rightly re- 
marks : 'Was aber denselben einen hoheren poetischen Werth verleiht, jenen 
Reichthum der Schilderung bedingt und ihre wahre Eigenthiimlichkeit ausmacht, 
das ist dass das Moment der Personification zu einer bedeutenderen Einfaltung 
gelangt, indem die Objecte der Riithsel nicht bloss nach ihren Eigenschaften sich 
schildern, sondern in dramatischer Action handelnd oder leidend sich vorfiihren. 
Dadurch schreitet die Personification zu menschlicher Individualisirung fort indem 
Empfindungen wie Leidenschaften den Dingen verliehen werden. . . . Eine solche 
lebendigere Personification findet sich wenigstens in den besten der angelsiichsisch 
geschriebenen Riithsel.' 

I Not only is the Ixidger (16* a brave fighter against her foe, ' the death-whelp,' 
but Storm (2, 3, 4), Sun (7), Horn (15"). Anchor (17), Moon and Sun (30), Iceberg 
(34), and Loom (57) are also mighty warriors : even the Mead (28) accomplishes 
•sovereign overthrow.' The Weapon riddles are naturally full of this spirit. 

§ The Riddh-s pass in review the love of a mother for her children in their 
jiictures of Cuckoo, Badger, and Water (10. 16, 84), fraternal devotion in the ac- 
count of the lonely Stag-honi (88). the love of wife for husband (62), and the 
passion of the wooer in the caresses lavished upon the Beaker (64). 

II Rid. 27, 31, 35. 49, 60. 68. 84. 

1[ Ballista and Bow (i8. 24) are full of poisonous spleen, and the Iceberg (34) 
is Jietcgrim. 

** The Sword bemourns its lack of wife and children (2i'-^^-"), the Ore vaunts 
its alc->ofness (83^-^^), and the Moon wanders sadly far from men (3o^'^-^*"i'', 40^"-\ 
954,10,-.). 

tt The Moon reveals wisdom (95*'-^), and Bookmotli and Bookcase are unwit- 
ting of the contents of books (48. 50). 

It Both Sun and Moon are widely known to earth-dwellers (30. 95). 

§§ Battering-ram and Lance (54, 73) chant their early beauty, and the Horn 
sings of its happy days on the stag's head (93). 



FORM AiND STRUCTURE OF TJ11-: KIDDLES xci 

sufferings of the strange creatures, and, sadder still from the Germanic 
viewpoint, their inability to wreak revenge upon their foes.* 

Our riddles not only thus run the gamut of the ordinary human emo- 
tions, but they range from pole to pole of the English social life of their 
time. Some of them move in a world of high breeding and courtly usage, 
of lofty tone and temper like that of the Jnowii/f ^nd the heroic verse f 
— a world in which warriors shake their lances in the battle X and receive 
upon their shields the brunt of falling blows, § or extol their highly adorned 
swords in the wine-hall ;|| in which fair-haired women of rank bear the 
drinking-horn at the feast, 11 arm their lords for the hght,** and chide the 
swords that lay the heroes low. ft Many others are upon a plane of every- 
day life and action, of humble trades and occupations, $$ while a few de- 
scend into the depths of greasy doitli/e t'/ite/ite.%% Yet the line between 
high and low is not sufficiently distinct to indicate a different origin for 
riddles of different genre, inasmuch as a transition from one class to 
another sometimes takes place within the compass of a single problem. || || 

The Ridiih's do not conline themsekes to things of earth. The 
spiritual life of the early luiglish linds expression in a few of the 
poems. It is significant, as an indication of this religious feeling, that 
the classical mythology of Aldhelm's Dc Ciratiira is, in every case, 
Christianized and Germanized by his translator, 1[1I who exalts as shaper 

*The Shield (6), Sword (21), Book (27), Barley (29), Battering-ram (54), Ox 
(72), Lance ^73), Weathercock (81), Ore (83), and Stag-horn (88, 93), are the chief 
sufferers. In Rid. 21, 83, 93, the absence of revenge is a prominent motive. 

t See Brooke, Eiig. Lit. from the Beginniiii;, p. 159. Brand), Pauls Griiiidriss- 
II, 972, notes that the Kiddles are courtly, that they are steeped in the colors of 
the heroic epos. 

\ Rid. 73, 92. § Rid. 6, 71. II Rid. 2i»-i5. 

IF Rid. 8o'> 5 ; cf. 158-3. 

** Rid. 62. This interpretation is very douljtful (see notes). 

tt^/V/. 2132-35. 

J I Such are the riddles of Plowman (22), O.xheid (72), Thresher (53), Onion- 
parer (26), Garlic -seller (86), Bell-ringer (5), Weaver (36, 57), Smith (38, 87), 
Flute-cutter (61), Bread-maker (46), Butter-maker (55). Cf. Brooke, Eiig. Lit. 
from the Beginning, p. 160. 

%\Rid. 26, 45, 46, 55, 62, 63. 

II II For instance, Rid. 62 begins on an elevated plane, and plunges into obscene 
jest, while hioitloc as applied to the Hen in Rid. 43'' suggests a burlesque of epic 
phrase. Yet one can hardly follow Trautmann in assigning Rid. 18, a mate in 
tone and temper to the warlike ' Bow' riddle (24), to the Oven. 

UT" See notes to Rid. 41. Cf. Prehn, p. 213. 



xcii INTRODUCTION 

and ruler se atni god* Here, as in several other riddles, t the creation 
is seemingly assigned to the Father alone ; but in one passage the work 
of shaping is ascribed to the Son X as in Cynewulf 's Christ, and in 
another to both the First and Second Persons. § God is elsewhere 
described by both usual and unusual epithets, || and, as often in the 
poetry. Heaven is praised as the land of glory, the abode of the angels, 
the fortress of God.H The beauty of God's Word,** the saving grace of 
prayer, ft and the wonder-working power of the Eucharist %% are extolled. 
Sacred vessels,! t Cross, §§ and perhaps Holy Water || || are reverently in- 
troduced as riddle-subjects. The Body and Soul legend finds a place, HIT 
and dim Apocalyptic allusions obscure the difficult Latin riddle.*** 

Despite this Christian element, Brooke is not wholly wrong in declar- 
ing : ttt ' The Riddles are the work of a man, who. Christian in name, 
was all but heathen in heart. . . . They are alive with heathen thoughts 
and manners. The old nature-myths appear in the creation gf the Storm- 
giant, who, prisoned deep, is let loose, and passes, destroying, over land 
and sea, bearing the rain on his back and lifting the sea into waves. . . . 
They appear again in the ever-renewed contest between the sun and the 
moon, in the iceberg shouting and driving his beak into the ships, in the 
wild hunt in the clouds, in the snakes that weave [?], in the fate god- 
desses [?], in the war-demons who dwell and cry in the sword, the arrow, 
and the spear [?] ; in the swan, who is lifted into likeness with the swan- 
maiden [?], whose feathers sing a lulling song. . . . The business of war, 

* Barnouw has an interesting note (p. 219) upon the use of this phrase (41-^) : 
' Die bedeutung kann hier nur sein, " der Gott allein, der u. s. \v.," und nicht " der 
Eine Gott, der u. s. w.," well in diesem falle nur se an God moglich gewesen ware 
(vgl. 84^" an sunu, Ciith. A. 372 a se an oretta; Gen. B. 235 )>one anne beam). 
Bei dieser einzig moglichen auffassung verrat der christUche dichter seine noch 
heidnisch gefarbte anschauungsweise, welche wohl nicht der einfluss seiner klassi- 
schen kenntnisse, sondern die nachwirkung des alten volksglaubens sein vvird. 
Hochstwahrscheinlich haben wir hier also ein sehr altes ratsel.' 

t 85^ unc drihten scop ; 88^'^, unc gescop meotud. 

{ 7I"-, Mec (Sunne) gesette s55 sigora waldend | Crist to compe. 

§ 84^^^", fyrn forJigesceaft ; fasder ealle bewat | or ond ende, swj^lce an sunu. 

II 40-^, wuldorcyninges; 41'', reccend . . . cyning . . . anwalda, etc. ; 49^, helpend 
gSsta ; eo*, god nergende ; eo*', HSlend. 1 Rid. 67**, eo^-^-i^. ** Rid. 27, 68. 

tt Rid. 6oi-5f-. 

\\ Rid. 49, 60. Oblation and Consecration in these riddles recall the Canon of 
the Mass in the Sarum and York Missals. 'i^^Rid. 56; see Rid. 31. 

ill! Rid. 3i^"» (?). Cf. 84»8. m Rid. 44. *** Rid. 90. 

1 1 ■^ A" //;,'■. /.//. froDi tlic Beginning, pp. I5S-15(;. 



FORM AND STRUCTURE OF THE RIDDLES xciii 

of sailini;- tlic ocean, of horses, of plundering and re]X'lling plunderers, 
of the fierce work of battle, is frankly and joyfully heathen.' Brandl 
goes to the other extreme:* 'Die Auffassung hat nichts heidnisches 
oder antilu'idnisches mehr, nicht einmal etwas mythisches.' In the first 
pages of this Introduction I have indicated the place of myths in the 
Kiddles. 

Careful analysis of our ( )ld luigiish art-riddles yields few indications 
of adherence to any normal form or plan, such as that derived by 
Petsch t from his study of riddles of the folk. Yet it is not unprofitable 
to trace ill our problems the appearance of each of the divisions that 
comjjosc humbler and more popular puzzles. The introductory framing 
element in folk-riddles consists of three parts : simple summons to 
guess, the stimulating of interest by the mention of person- or place- 
names, and the indication of the place of the subject. The first of these 
is represented in the Exeter Book collection by the large number of 
opening formulas, elsewhere considered, and in one case by a query. $ 
'I'he -second is not found, but the third is very common, and takes two 
forms : sometimes being limited to a phrase of little import, sometimes 
extending into the body of the riddle § and constituting one of its chief 
motives. Of the use of proper names in the naming germ-element there 
is hardly a trace, || as the Riddles make no attempt to assign to their 
subjects a local habitation. But the runic riddles (see Soli/fions) are 
partly name or word problems. Description in the enigmas is of vari- 
ous kinds : in the ' monster ' riddles, If detailed enumeration of physical 
peculiarities ; in the obscene poems, an indefiniteness of indication ** 

* Pauls Griindriss'^ II, 971. \ Palaesira IV, 50 f. 

I Rid. 2^-'\ Hwylc is haele^a f'xs horse ond hass hygecrasftig | j'set hast mjege 
asecgan, etc. The formula-beginnings arouse attention by stressing the strange- 
ness or importance of the subject: 21^, 25^, 26^, 30-', 32^, 33^, 37-'^"^, 69^"^, 70^ etc. 

§ Examples of the first are 34^, zefter wege ; 35I, in wera burgum ; 37I, on \vege ; 
46^, on wincle ; 55^, in wincle ; 56^, 60^, in healle ; 86^, \xr weias sSton — these 
])hrases cast little light upon the subject. Examples of the second are the watery 
home of the Barnacle Goose (11), the abodes of honey (28), the fields of barley 
(29), the mines of metal (36, 71), the threshing-floor of the Flail (53), the groves 
from which sprang Ram and Lance (54, 73), the marshy tidewater where the Reed 
grew (61), the sea that fed the Oyster (77), the stag-head that bore proudly the 
Horns (88, 93), — all valuable aids to the solution. 

II 63^, sujierne secg, and 72^^, inearcpa}>as IValas, are only seeming exceptions. 
t Rid. 32, 33, 35, 37, 59, 70, 81, 86. 

** Rid. 26^, neohan ruh nathwSr; 46^, weaxan nathwa^t ;. 62^, ruwes nathwast ; 
63**, on nearo nathwjer. 



xciv INTRODUCTION 

frequent in Volksrlifscl. Sometimes tlie subject is described as a whole 
through one trait ; * but usually through several distinguishing features, t 
As in the riddles of the Hen'arar Sc^ga.X four characteristics of the 
subject receive attention: color, § formj number-relation, IT and inner 
nature.** A wide range of vision, quick observation, and generous sym- 
path\' mark all the descri])tive work of our collection. 

The narratixe element in the Exeter Book RidiUcs is far larger than 
the purely descriptive. In many of the problems description is immedi- 
ately succeeded by narration,tt or else is wholly superseded by this.|| So 
under this head of narration, or the artistic treatment of action, may be 
considered a few of the dominant motives of our collection. One or two 
of these — the relation of the subjects to mankind, their human traits 
and poignant sufferings — have already been indicated. There remain 
others familiar to the student of riddle-poetry. The first of these themes 
is a change of state, by which the creature is bereft of early joys and 
woe is entailed upon him.§§ So the contrasts between youth and later 

* In two cases this method limits the problem to a single line : 69'', Wundor 
weanN on wege : waiter wearii to bane ; 75^"-, Ic swiftne geseah on swat'e feran | 
D N U H. But several riddles are devoted each to the elaboration of a single 
characteristic : the warlike spirit of the Anchor (17), the mimetic power of the Jay 
(25), the saving grace of the Communion Cup (60). 

t The ' Beech' riddle (92) is but a series of kennings, and the ' Horn ' enigmas 
(15,80) mark out the various uses of the subject. The cruelty of the Iceberg (34)' 
is supplemented by an account of its mysterious origin ; and the strange traits of 
the Weathercock (81) by a picture of its misery. 

\ See Heusler, Zs. d. I'.f. /'/•. XI, 147. 

§ Notably in the pictures of the array of the Barnacle Goose (11), of Night's 
garment (12), of the Badger's markings (16), and of the Swallow's coat (58). 

II Cf. 19, 22l>"'\ 32, 33. 35, 37, 38, 45, 53, 56 (substance), 58, 81, 86, 87, 91. 

ISee 14, 23, 47. 

**This has already been discussed at sufficient length in connection with the 
human element in the Riddles. 

tt AV(/. 6, 12. 14, 16, 18. 21, 22, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 39, 45, 50, 51, 52, 54, 56. 58, 
59' 63, 67, 70, 71, 72, 74, 80, 81, 84, 87, 91, 95. 

XI Kid. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 17, 20, 23, 27, 43, 46, 48, 55, 57, 61, 62, 66, 77. 83, 
88, 93. In several riddles, pure description is limited to a single touch : 24-, 
wrx'llic ... on gewin sceapen ; 64'\ gla;d mid golde. 

§§ The Ram and Lance, deadly weapons, e.xtol their joyous life in the forest 
(54, 73) ; the O.x, goaded by the black herd, bewails its pleasant youth (72) ; and 
Honey (28), Barley (29), Reed (61), Oyster (77), Ore (83), and Horn (88, 93) all 
point to the happy days before they fell into the shaping hands of man. Only 
the Parchment (27) seems reconciled to its new condition. 



FORM AND STRUCTURE OF THE RIDDLES xcv 

life,* between the living and dead creature, f are forcibly stressed. This 
love of surprising contrasts leads not only to striking antitheses, $ but 
to that potent checking element of enigmatic personification, the fre- 
quent introduction of effectless causes and causeless effects. § 

Above all, the Riddles delight in movement, whether it be the rushing 
of the storm (2-4) or the gliding of the iceberg (34), the swift pace of 
t'og (75) and horse (20), the speed of the stag (93), the rapid flight of 
birds (8, 11, 58), the quick motion of the fish and the ceaseless flow 
of the river (85), the darting of the shuttle (57), the hurry of the pen in 
the hand of a ready writer (52), or even the wide wanderings of the 
Moon (30, 40, 95). The very themes impart rapidity to the poems, but 
the treatment is rapid as well, abounding in dynamic words || and compact 
phrases. IT The note of sorrow and suffering is often struck {supra), but, 
despite this, the Riddles create an impression of vivid and strenuous life 
which adds greatly to their charm. 

As in the folk-riddles, the final framing element in our problems is a 
formula of closing. The various forms of this have been discussed else- 
where ; so it is only necessary to note now that the larger number of 
these satisfy the conditions of more popular puzzles in their summons 
to guess, and in their insistence upon the difficulty of solution.** 

* Rid. 10 (Cuckoo), II (Barnacle Goose). 

\ Kid. 13, 39, 74, 85. See Wossidlo, No. 77 ; Petsch, p. 125. 

J Rid. 32'-*, 40, 41, 591°"!-. 

§ Rid. 19^"^ ne masg word sprecan,| masldan for monnum, heah ic mul' h^bbe ; 
48^, St^lgiest lie vvres | wihte )'y gleawra he he J^am wordum swealg ; 49^"-, [ierjen- 
dean . . . butan tungan ; 61^, muSleas sprecan ; 66^, cwico . . . ne cwae'5 ic wiht. 
Cf. 349-10, 388. 

11 Notice the large number of these in the ' Storm ' riddles (2-4) and in dozens 
of others (30, 52, 74, 85, etc.). It is not surprising that the periphrastic preterit 
formed by the preterit of niman (c6m(on)), -|- an infinitive of motion, which occurs 
only twice in Cynewulf (Jul. 563, C/ir. 549), appears four times in the Riddles (23I, 
34I, 55^ 861). 

T[ This is strikingly illustrated by the past participles of Rid. 29 and by the 
terseness of the obscene riddles. 

** Such endings as those of Rid. 5, 29, 32, 33, 36, 40, 43, 44, 56, 68, 73, 84, 
recall the phrase of the folk : ' He is a zoise man who can tell me that.' 



xcvi INTRODUCTION 

VI 

THE MANUSCRIPTS 

The Exeter Book, most famous of all Leofric's donations to the new 
cathedral of the West, has already been so carefully described in another 
volume of this series* that we need consider now only the place of the 
Riddles in this celebrated codex. These enigmas occupy three different 
portions of the manuscript : f. loo b-i i5a(/v'/c/. 1-60 inclusive) ; f. 122 b- 
123a i^Rid. 31 />, 61) ; f. 1 24b-i3ob (AV^/.62-95). Unfortunately for the 
student of the Riddles, it is these final pages of the Book, otherwise so 
well-preserved, that have suffered threeft)ld damage : 

(i) The last twelve leaves have been burned through by a piece of 
ignited wood which appears to have fallen upon the Book. The damaged 
places have a like shape upon all the leaves, decreasing, however, in size 
to the inner part of the codex, until on f. ii8b only one small burn is 
visible. t 'This serious accident has impaired or reduced to fragments all 
riddles at the middle of these injured pages : 31 /'" (i 22 b), 64'"^^ (125 a), 
681" (^j2^ b^)^ ►^iT-io ^^^ ^2^-5 (126 a), 73'-° (126 b), 77"-^ and 78 
(127 a), 8i"-i-^ and 82 (127 b), 84"-i» (128 a), 84^--^'' (128 b), 87^ and 
881-" (129 a), 883*-35 ^^^ 89 (129 b), 928-^ and 931^ (130 a), 93-«'^-^ and 
94 (130 b). 

(2) A page is certainly missing after f. 1 1 1. Rid. 41 (i 1 1 b, bottom) 
breaks off suddenly in the middle of a sentence (1. 108), and Rid. 42 
(112 a, top) begins with equal abruptness. It is probable that a page 
has been lost after f. 105, as Rid. 21 closes abruptly at the bottom of 
the page without a closing-sign. 

(3) The last leaf has been stained on its outer side (130 b) by the 
action of a fluid on the ink. A few words have thus been rendered 
almost illegible (91", 93""). 

The first and greatest of these injuries has occasioned the use of 
strips of vellum for binding together the damaged half-pages. In course 
of time, these strips have become loosened ; and, by peering beneath 
them, 1 have been able to read many letters and even words not visible 
to Schipper and Assmann.f These I have duly included in my text. 

*Cook, The Christ of Cyne7uul/, pp. xiii-xvi. 

t See Schipper, Ge?-ma>iia XIX (1874), 327 ; Trautmann, Atiglia XVI, 207. 

X So also Trautmann, I.e. 



THE MANUSCRIPTS xcvii 

It is surprising that the chief aid to the study and reconstruction of 
the defective passages has been neglected by all students of the text of 
the Riddles. This is the facsimile copy made for the British Museum 
by Robert Chambers from 1831 to 1832.* Despite Wiilker's slighting 
criticism, t the transcript has great value, not only because it is in the 
main very trustworthy, t but because it preserves letters and words which 
are now obscure or invisible. § I have collated it carefully with my text. 

Discovery of hitherto unobserved letters in the Exeter Book itself, and 
the fairly rich yield of the British Museum transcript, constitute potent 
arguments against daring emendations of the greatly-damaged text — 
emendations which rest upon nothing but the ingenious fancy of the 
reconstructionist, and which arc in nearly every case ruled out of court 

* The flyleaf of the Exete?- Book bears, at the bottom of the page, this note of 
the Chapter Clerk : ' In 1831 this Book was entrusted to the British Museum for 
the purpose of being copied for that institution, and returned October, 1832.' 
And the facsimile, which is known as Add. MS. 9067, is approved by Sir Frederic 
Madden in this comment upon its fly-leaf : ' The whole of the present transcript 
has been collated by me with the original MS. belonging to the Dean and Chapter 
of the Cathedral of Exeter. Frederic Madden, Asst. Keeper of the MSS. Brit. 
Mu.s., Feb. 24, 1832.' We learn from Thorpe's Introduction to his Codex Exoni- 
ensis (p. xii) that the original manuscript was brought back to Exeter in time for 
his use. Nothing, therefore, could be farther from truth than Brandl's surprising 
statement {Pauls Griindriss'^ II, 946) that 'Thorpe's text {Codex Exoniensis) is 
based upon the transcript by Robert Chambers.' 

t 'Obgleich laut einer Bemerkung in der Abschrift Madden selbst eine Collation 
der Abschrift mit dem Urtexte 1831-1832 vornahm, ist dieser Text durchaus nicht 
voUstandig zuverlassig ' {GrumMss, p. 222). 

X Kemble derives his text of the Traveler's Song (\Vidsi&) from this source, 
which he calls ' an accurate and collated copy ' {Beo7vttlf, 2d ed., p. 26) ; and 
Gn.-W. Bibl. collates it with the codex in its text of ' Vater unser' (II, 2, 227), 
' Gebet ' (II, 2, 217), and ' Lehrgedicht ' (II, 2, 280), but neglects it strangely in its 
text not only of the Riddles but of the Ruin (I, 297), the Husband's Message (I, 
306) and the Descent into Hell (III, 176), where it furnishes valuable aid. In the 
transcript of the Riddles I note only these errors : gefrcrtn iox gefrcrgn (68^), ratlice 
for ^vra-tlice (68^), hine for h'rtte (93'^-), eow Jxrs for eorpes (93"^^). The imitation of 
the upright well-formed English minuscules of the Exeter Book is surprisingly 
good; and all gaps due to damage are skillfully indicated. 

§1 cite only a few of many instances: 21^, Edd., citing MS. incorrectly, rice; 
MS. and B. M. sace; 72^ B. M. oft ic, not seen by Assmann or Schipper, nor by me ; 
8i^°, B. M. orst . . . eose&; 81^'^, I read in MS., before sceaft, meet . . . , not seen by 
Assm., Sch. ; B. M. « w/W; 84^''^, MS., after nnr, I read st, not seen by Assm., Sch. ; 
B. M. tnces ; 881°, B. M. }>eana for xoeana (Edd.) ; 93^8^ MS. oft vie, visible to me but 
not to Edd. ; B. M. oft me. 



xcviii INTRODUCTION 

by a more thorough study of the manuscript and of the early copy.* 
Three considerations have dictated to editors and critics violent distor- 
tions of the text of the Riddles. The first of these has been the desire 
to wrest the reading of the manuscript into accord with some far- 
fetched solution. As I have already shown, f the text may be without 
flaw, it may indeed contain a reading confirmed by many parallel pas- 
sages in the Riddles themselves ; but if it dues not accord with the 
editor's answer of the moment he alters in Procrustean fashion. J Sec- 
ondly, a metrical a-priorism that brooks no freedom of verse has naturally 
led to arbitrary assaults upon the integrity of many passages. § And 
finally, inability to grasp the pcfetic perspective of the Old English has 
caused the unwarrantable rejection of some of the most striking phrases 
and kennings in our early poetry. || The foolishly named ' curse of con- 
servatism ' is far preferable to the itch of rash conjecture. 1[ I have there- 
fore sought to show due respect to a text which in its undamaged 
portions is excellent, and have emended only with ^■alid reasons.** 

In the manuscript the beginnings of the several riddles are marked 
by large initial letters, and the endings by signs of closing, : 7 or : - or 
: - : 7.tt f '■> '^ f<-'\v cases these indications are lacking. There is no such 
sign at the end of Rid. 3, which concludes, however, at the bottom of a 
page (loi a) ; at the ends of 21 and 41, where abrupt terminations indi- 
cate missing pages ; nor at the conclusions of 43 and 48, each of which 
is followed on the same line by the opening words of the next riddle. 

* Almost without exception, Dietrich's suggested readings i^/Liiipts Zs. XI) 
have been invalidated by reference to the original te.xt. Holthausen is equally 
unfortunate : manuscript and transcript flatly contradict his emendations of 77^, 
Si^", 83''', 93-*i 94"i and confirm his additions only in such obvious omissions as 
68* [n]en>te (B. M. thcniie) and 84"" [<i7/;/i7] (MS., B. M. cv[i!iia]). 

t M. L. A\ XXI, 9S. 

X See Trautmann, BB. XIX, 167-215, and note his sweeping changes of text 
in ii3b,7a^ i8"\ 531'', 95'% etc. 

§ See particularly Ilolthausen's readings of 16-, 25-, 55^, 84'-' --. 

II Holthausen emends out of existence the interesting Jieofones tdj>e (87^) and 
briinrn I'i-ot (92^). See notes to these passages. 

IT Sievers utters dignified protest {PBB. XXIX, 305-331) against 'die tendenz 
bei der behandlung unsrer alten dichtungen persiinliche willkiir des urteils an die 
stelle geduldiger vertiefung in die zur rede stehenden probleme zu setzen.' 

** All emendation has its pitfalls, as I have found to my cost. Professor Bright 
objects with reason to the double alliteration in 73-^'' of my text, and plausibly 
proposes Jl^san sp }>e mine \ \sdhi\ cunne, sas;a hiiurt ic hdtte. 

tt The symbol at the end of Rid. 5 is doubtless a closing sign. 



THE MANUSCRIPTS xcix 

Marks of closing arc wrongly used after the fifteenth line of Kid. 28 
(28"^^^, written as a separate riddle, may thus serve to connect the two 
problems of like subjects, 28 and 29) and after the opening formula of 
Kill. 69 (which is, however, a useless prefix to the real riddle-germ in 
the third line). The end of the enigma is sometimes emphasized by the 
inclusion of its last word or words in a bracket on the next line, as in 
Kid. 38, 46, 54, 71, 86. 

The Exeter Book scribe regularly separates compounds whose second 
member also has a heavy stress.* He severs prefixes from their roots 
and appends them to preceding words.f He even separates the syllables 
of a simplex, t Finally, he achieves impossible combinations. § 

\'ery few abbreviations are employed by the scribe. || The conjunction 
Ofid is always represented by the sign •].1[ The ending -itm (JncVrwi, 
biirgum, etc.) sometimes appears as /?, and sometimes unabbreviated ; ** 
poiine always figures as l^on, and h^'t frequently as p. fo and d are used 
arbitrarily. tt i'he uncontracted gerundial form with -ne {to hycgan?ie, to 
secganne) appears so consistently, even when the meter demands the 
contracted, It as to suggest a similar consistency in the earliest version 

* This habit, common among Old English scribes (see Keller, Palaestra 
XLIII, 51), not infrequently leads to ambiguity: compare 18^, eodor wirum; 
2^^*,/(Ct h digest; 31^, tig bysig. 

t As in the Beoiv7ilf^\?>., the chief offender in this regard is ge-: compare 4-'', 
hyge mitta& {/ly gemitta&) ; 4^8, fiege riTce& (/.f ge7-(ece&) ; 10'^, niiiige sceafu {min 
gesceapu) ; i^^, swage imrdde {swa geitucdde) ; 39^, mege scrde {me ges<cde) ; etc. 
With this last example before him, one may hesitate to accept the form me^i^e 
(< wiF^r) in 10'^, III ege -.nediim. So with an-; compare 4''^ oraii stette. How then 
are we to construe 41^'*, jTi'^^^rAz;/ .^yne {siaeart aiisyiie?), and 57^, torhtaii stoJ 
{lorht anstod ?) ? 

\ So in l\iJ. 46^, win cle {zoincte). Perhaps some such form in his original led 
the scribe to the metrically impossible wiii{c) sele in the kindred riddle 552. Is 54^'', 
/u-r geiiaiiiiiaii, to be read with Gn., W.,/u-r geiiaiii \ nan ? 

§ Compare 2^*^, gifiiioge {gif tiio ge). 

II See A'e7i< Patceograp/ikal Society, London, 1903, Plates, 9, 10, for expert com- 
ment upon our MS. T[ This appears even in 6^, -^weoi-c {Iiondweoi-c). 

** Assmann has carefully noted in his text (W.) these varying usages. I have 
deemed it unnecessary to record them in mine. 

tf Assmann (W.) is the only editor of the Kiddles who follows the manuscript 
closely in this regard. He is wrong at least once : 84*"', MS. bi&, W. bil>. I have 
tried to adhere to the use in the codex. 

It See Rid. 29^^, 32^^ 40^^ 42^, etc.; 88-^""'', fieininan ne iiiT/ie is obviously 
freminaiine nie/re. Like Krapp in his edition of the Andreas, I have given in all 
such cases the inflected form of the manuscript. 



C INTRODUCTION 

of the text. The signs or accents (0 over vowels in the manuscript * 
fall upon long vowels, and nia\- therefore be regarded as marks of length 
— save in one or two cases, t 

The recent readings of the Northumbrian \ariant of Rid. 36, the so- 
called Leiden Riddle (see variant notes), unfortunately reached me too 
late for inclusion in my text, but have been printed bv me in the notes, 
without comment. I 

Thorpe, in his Codex Exoniensis, follows the threefold di\ision in the 
MS., and prints the Riddles in three groups, pp. 380-441, 470-472, 
479-500; but, as Grein pointed out, ^Riddle /' of Thorpe's second 
group (p. 470) is merely a variant of Rid. 31, and Thorpe's 'Riddle 
III'' of this division (p. 472) is no riddle at all but the beginning of 
The Husband's Message.% T'horpe omits from his text six riddle- 
fragments. Grein || follows Thorpe's reading of the manuscript, and, 
by drawing four riddles into two, gives us eighty-nine in all. In his 
notes upon the Exeter Book text, Schipper H supplies the missing frag- 
ments. He is followed bv Assmann,** who thus swells the numlxT to 
ninety-five. tt Trautmannlt regards Rid. 2, 3, 4, as one riddle, and 
Grein's 37 and 68 each as two. I adhere to the numeration of the Grein- 
W'iilkcr text, bracketing, however. • the First Riddle ' as a thing apart. §§ 

* These are recorded in Gn.-\V., Bihl. Ill, 243. 

t Gumrinc {87'') ; (' (55^) ; on {7", 21'-^, 22"). The mark after / in p'lie.v (41*'*') 
may be either a macron (Schipper) or an abbreviation-sign (Assmann). 

t The forms &>-t-auugi&rirc and nyn</icru-ftii>n (^Leid. 6, 9), reported by Dr. 
Schlutter, are far more apt than the Exeter Book variants, and moreover find 
abundant support '\\\ h^'Sunngspinl, ' calamistrum ' (Napier, O. E. Glosses, Nos. 1200, 
4646, 5328), and in nuyndecreft, 'ars plumaria' (Sweet, O. E. Texts, p. 43, Corpus 
Gl. 217), to which B.-T. long since pointed in this connection. On the other hand, 
the meter strongly opposes the new readings oi Leid. !•■*, 8'\ 14'^''. 

§ Hicketier, Anglia XI, 364, thinks that the ' Message ' is a riddle ; and, as we 
have seen, Strobl, Haupts Zs. XXXI, 55, seeks to show that it is a solution of the 
preceding riddle {Kid. 61), the two forming a IVettgedicht. On the other hand 
VA.s.cV.XiwxVi, Jour)ial of Germanic riiilology III, i, sets forth the pretty and ingen- 
ious theory that Kid. 61 should not be regarded as an enigma, but should be 
united with the ' Message ' into a lyric. See my notes to Kid. 61. 

II Bibl. der ags. Poesie II, 369-407. \Germania XIX, 32S, 334, 335, 337, 33S. 

** Grein-Wiilker, BiH. der ags. Poesie III, 183-23S. 

tt The fragments are Nos. 68, 78, 82, 89, 92, 94. 

XXAnglia, Bh. V, 46. 

§§ The various editions of single riddles will be cited under this liead in my 
Bibliography. Thorpe, Grein, and Assmann (Grein-Wiilker) furnish the only 
complete texts. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



I. THE MANUSCRIPTS 

The Exeter Book. F. ioob-ii5a (Riddles 1-60, inclusive); 122 b-i23a (31 /;, 

61); 124 b-i3ob (62-95). 
HiCKES, George. Linguarum Vett. Septentrionalium Thesaurus Grammatico- 

Criticus et Archaeologicus, III, 5 (Facsimiles of Riddles 20, 25, 37, 65, 75, 

76). London, 1703. 
Chambers, Robert. British Museum Transcript of the Exeter Book (Addit. 

MS. 9067). 1831-1832. 
Grein, C. W. M. Bibliothek der angelsachsischen Poesie. Final page (Facsimile 

of Riddle 37, after Ilickes). Goettingen, 1858. 
Codex Leiden, Voss Q. 106. F. 24b. Leiden Riddle (Northumbrian version of 

Riddle 36). 
Dietrich, Franz. Commentatio de Kynewulfi Poetae Aetate, p. 27 (Facsimile 

of Leiden Riddle). Marburg, 1858. 
Schlutter, OiTd 1!. Das Leidener Ratsel (Reproduction, critical te.xt, and 

translation). Anglia, XXXII (1909), 384-388. 

II. EDITIONS AND EXTRACTS* 

Conybeare, J. J. Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, pp. 208-213 (Riddles 

gi-a.i^ 468-74^ 23, 47, 67, 90). London, 1826. 
MuLLER, I». C. Collectanea Anglo-Saxonica, pp. 63-64 (Kiddles 6, 27). Ilav- 

niae, 1835. 
Thorpe, Benj. Codex Exoniensis, pp. 380-441 ; 470-472 ; 479-500. London, 1842. 
Wright, Thomas. Biographia Britannica Literaria, I, 79-82 (Riddles 14, 20, 29, 

47). London, 1842.! 
Klipstein, L. F. Analecta Anglo-Saxonica, II, 337-340 (Riddles 14,29, 47, 62, 

74, 58). New York, 1849. 
EttmIjm.er, LuDovrcus. Engla and Seaxna Scopas and Boceras, pp. 2S9-300 

{Riddles 3-6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 23, 27-30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 61, 80, 86, 33, 47, 67, 

20). Quedlinburgii et Lipsiae, 1850. 
Grein, C. W. M. Bibliothek der angelsachsischen Poesie, II, 369-407. Goet- 
tingen, 1858. 
Rieger, Max. Alt- und angelsachsisches Lesebuch, pp. 132-136 (Riddles 3, 6, 

15, 27, 30, 36, Leiden, 48). Giessen, 1861. 
ScHii'i'EK, Julius. Zum Codex Exoniensis. Germania, XIX (1874), 328, 334, 335, 

337. ll>^- 

* The order of the titles is chronological. 
The readings of Wright and Klipstein have not been included among my variants, as they are too 
inaccurate to merit record. 



cii KiDDi.i.s oi" 11 ii; i;\i:ri;K r.ooK 

Swi'.Ki, IIknuy. oldest luiglish Ti-xts, pp. i.|>)-i5i (Loiilrn Kiddle). ICarly 

l-'.iiglish Te.\t Society 83, 1SS5. 
An AngloSaxdiv Reader, pp. 164-167 (Kiddles 8, 10, 15, 27, 30, 48, 58), 

p. 176 (l.eiden). iMglitli eilition, Oxford, 190S. 
MacI.I'.AN, ( 'i. 1'".. .All < 'Id and Middle iMigli.sli Keatler (on the ba.sis of Piofessor 

Iiiliiis Ziipit/a'.s .All uiul millelenglisches llhiingshiich), pp. XX\-XXXI, 4-5 

(Kiddle 16). New N'.iik, iS();,. 
Ki.i(;i, I'Ki I |)K icii. .\ni;els;u hsi.selie.s l.eselnuh, pp. ii^i-it;;. (Kiildles i, 15, 

36, i.eideii). 2i\ ed, iialle. 1X07. 
\\'ri.KiK. K. !'. r.ililiiilhel< del angelsiiehsisi hen I'oesie, III, iSv-^i^- Kiddles 

(ediled hv Kiiino .\ssiiiann). Leip/ig, iS.j;. Keviewed l>y 1'. I lolth.uisen, 

.Viigli.i, iieilil.ill, IX (iSi)9), 357. 
Tkmimwn, M<m;ii/. .Mte und iieiie .\nt\voilen .luf altenglisehe Kalsel. Tion- 

nei Keitiage ziii .Anglistik, XIX (11)05), 1(17-2 1 5 (Kiddles 11, 12.14, i8' 26,30, 

45' 52. 53. 58, 74, 80, 95, 31). Reviewed by Middendoiff, Anglia, Beiblatt, XVII 

(n)07), 109-1 10. 

III. TRANSLATIONS* 

Ciiwiii: \ui'. I. 1. In his exti.uls fioin the text, as above. 

TlliiKl'P. r>. I, lu his editi<in of the text, as above. 

\\ Kit'.iii, TiioM \s. r.io<;i.iphi.i l!i it.innie.i I iteiaiia, I, 70-82 (Kiddles 14, 20, 29, 
47). Kondon. iS.|j. 

(iKl'.lN, C. W. M. Diehtungen dev Angidsai hsen sl.ibreimend iiberset/t. II, 207- 
247. I'assel mul (liiltingen. i8()3. 

r>K(i()Kr. .S iiirioKi' A. The History of l'".,iilv I'.nglish I.iteratuie (Riddles 2, 3, 
4, 6, 8, 9, II, 15, 16, 17' ■', 21, 22, 23 paraphrase, 24, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35- ••■ ""■ 36, 
39, 4i'*'-'''' ii'-ii'", 52, 54, 56, 57, 58. 61, 72'' '-• ''''", 73 paraphrase, 80, 81''"'", 
88i''.-iT. 'i-i-ii^ 93'-'-, 95). New Wnk. 1S02. 

I'oDK. A. S., aiul 'I'lNKi'K. ('. 1'.. Select Ti.iusl.it ions from CMd I'.nglish Poetry, 
jip, 01 oj (Kiddle 61, 1'". .\. lUaelvbiirn) ; pp. 70-75 (Kidilles 2, 3, 8. 15, 24, 27, 
•28,80, 11. 1>. Hioughain). Koston, n)02. 

Tk \r IM \\N. MoKHV. bonnei r.eiliai;e /ur .\nL;lislik, X 1 X (Kjos). I(>7-2 15 (Kid- 
dles II, 12. 14. 18. 26. 30. 45, 52. 53. 58, 74, 80, 95, 31). 

W \Kui N. K \ 11 M. ,\ Tre.isuiv of I'.ii^lish literature (from the Beginning to the 
I'-ighleenth Cenlniv). with an liiliodiution by Stopford .A. Brooke (Riddles 2, 
3,6,8,30; Wiilkei's text with ,1 pn>se version in Moilern English). l,ondi>n, 

1 900. 

IV. 1,AN(U'A(;K ANO AlKTKRt 

1! \KNoi \v. .\. 1. Textkritisihe I'nteisneluingen nach dem Cebraneh des be- 
stinunten Artikels und de.s schwachen Adjectivs in der altenglischen I'oesie. 
Leiden, 1902. 

CosiiN, v. ]. Anglosaxonica IV. Raul nnd Rraunes Beitriige, XXIIl (180S), 12S f. 

• ■flu- okUm- o( liiU-s is ,hi.>iiol.ii;ic,il. 1 I'lu- ou\vv of tillcs is .dpii.ibctic.il. 



I'.ir.i.iocKAriiN' liii 

I'ki I III', r. Mclrisi lies iiiul Spi.u lili( lies /ii ( 'yiu-wiiU's I'llciic, |uli,in:i iiiul <iist. 

Cii'ilswMld, iSS;. 
(Iki'.in, ('. \V. M. Ziii 'I'cxlUrilik ilci iiii(;cls;ii:lisist:lic'ii l)icliti;i. ( ici in:iiii:i, X 

{i,S(,5), .,2,,. 

1 1 i:i;/m:i II, Ciioi;!:. Die I\;ilscl dcs Isxc-tcrhuclics iind ilir X'ci fassm. A(l;i ('n;i 

nKiiiii M, lUI. II. Hell I. li.'iiin, iS.^o. 
I lol.l II AIISi:n, I''. lU'iliiigc /ur Mikliirimg uiid Toxtkrilik allcnj^iisc lui I >ii hi imj^cii. 

Iiidogerniaiiisclio l''()isiiiung('n, IV (iS<),)), ^.S6 f. 
Zii all- imd iiiillclciir.iisi lien I )i( hi uii^cn, X \'. Aiipii.i, X X I \' (kjcu), 

264-267. 

Zur Textkiilik .i]l.iij;lis( lici I )ii lilmij^cn. I^nj^lisc he .Siudicn, XXXVII 

( 1 906), 20S I'. 

Janskn, ( 1. Hcilr;ii;i; zur SyiKnivinik iiiul I'oclik dri :iiij;(niciii ;ds iu hi anor- 

kaniitcn 1 )i< hi iiiif^cn ( 'yiu'w nils. Miitislci, i.SSj. 
Kl.AllMK, I'KI I III; ic II. I''.m(nd.ili(ins in ( )ld l''.ii^iish I'dciiis. Mddciii rhiiojoj^y, 

II (1904), i.|5-i.|(i. 

Kiitsel XII, 3f. An;;lia, IWiiiiall, XVII ( Hjod), 300. 

Kl.uci';, I''i<ii:iikicii. Zur ('icsciiiciitc des Kcinics iiii AJIf^ciiiianisclicii. I'aid nnd 

Urauncs Meitiaf^o, IX {i.SS.|), 422-450. 
Licii TKNlii.i.ii, A. I )as .sihwatht; Adjctliv iiti .Xiif^clsiu hsi.si hen. I l.iii|)ls Zuil- 

.srhrifl. XVI (1S7;,), 525 Y,^. 
MAIii;ur, Aiuilsl. Die .Sjiiac Iu; del allcnglis( hen Kalscl dcs I'',.\clciliii( his nnd 

die Cynewuiffiagc. Mailinrj;, 1900. Reviewed liy llcr/l'eld, llciiij^s Anliiv, 

<'VI (1901), 390. 
Siiii'i.KY, (ii.oKci;. 'I'lio (lenitive (!ase in Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Halliniore, r903. 
SiKVKKS, I'.iiiiAKii. Zur Khytliniik des gerniani.schen Allileration.sver.ses, II. 

l*aul iind Hraunes Heitriige, X (i'^'S5), 451-54 5. 
I)er angelsiicli.si.schc Schvvellvers. Paul und llrauncs licit r;ij;c, XII (iXSy), 

454-482.' 
TkAiriMANN, MdKir/.. Kynewnll, dci l'.is( hof nnd I)i( lilei. Itonnci licili.ige zur 

Anglistik, I. P.onn, 1 CS9S. 

V. All rilOkSIIIP AND I.rri'.KARV CRITICISM* 

Itl.ACKIiUKN, I'". A. The llnshand's Mes.sage and llit; Ac(OTn])anying Riddles of 

the I'lxeter lk)()k. Journal of ( iernianic Philology, III (1900), 1 f. 
Hoiri'KKWi'.K, K. W. C.ednion's des Angelsat:iisen Ijihlische Dichtnngcn, I, 510- 

}i I. Ciitersloh, 1.S54. 
IiKANlil,, /\i.(iis. I'aiglische I,il(!ialnr. Pauls (Irundriss dci gcriuanis< Ih'ii I'hilo- 

logie, 2d Ser., II, 969-973. Strasshurg, 190.S. 
UrooKK, S'lOl'KoKi) A. The History of luirly I'-nglish I.ilcralurc. New V'ork, I<S(;2. 
English Literature from the Hegiiining to iIh; Norman ('on(|uesl, ji]). 87-96, 

159-162. New York, i8()S. 
C()(JK, A. S. Recent Opinion < (nuerning the Riddles <if the I'',xeter Itook. Mod 

em Language Notes, VII (1892), 20 f. 

* Tlic bibliography of the ' I'ir.sl Kiildli; ' is not included. 



civ RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

Cook, A. S. The Christ of Cynewulf, pp. lii-lix. Boston, 1900. 

Dietrich, Franz. Die Ratsel des Exeterbuches, Wiirdigung, Lbsung und Her- 

stellung. Haupts Zeitschrift fiir deutsches Alterthum, XI (1859), 448, 490, XII 

(i860), 232-252. 
Erlem.-vnn, Edmund. Zu den altenghschen Ratsel. Herrigs Archiv, CXI 

(1903), 49 f. 
Erlemann, Fritz. Zum 90. angelsachsischen Ratsel. Herrigs Archiv, CXV 

(1905), 391. 
Grein, C. W. M. Bibliothek der angelsachsischen Foesie, II, 409-410. Goet- 

tingen, 1858. 

Zu den Ratseln des Exeterbuches. Germania, X (1865), 307-310. 

HiCKETiER, F. Fiinf Ratsel des Exeterbuches. Anglia, X (1888), 564-600. 
HoLTHAUSEN, F. Zur altenghschen Literatur. Anglia, Beiblatt, XVI (1905), 

227-228. 
Jansen, Karl. Die Cynevvulf-Forschung von ihren Anfiingen bis zur Gegenwart. 

Bonner Beitrage zur Anglistik, XXIV (1908). 
Krapp, G. p. Andreas and The Fates of the Apostles. Boston, 1906. 
Leo, Heinrich. Quae de se ipso Cynewulfus sive Coenewulfus poeta Anglo- 

Saxonicus tradiderit. Halle, 1857. Reviewed by Dietrich in Ebert's Jahrbuch 

fiir romanische und englische Literatur, I (1859), 241-246. 
Lieberm.\nn, Felix. Das angelsachsische Ratsel, 56: 'Galgen' als Waffen- 

stander. Herrigs Archiv, CXIV (1905), 163. 
Morley, Henry. English Writers, II, 38, 136-137, 217-227. London, 1888. 
MiJLLER, ED\v.\Rn. Die Ratsel des Exeterbuches. Programm der herzoglichen 

Hauptschule zu Cothen. Cothen, 1861. 
NucK, R. Zu Trautmanns Deutung des ersten und neunundachtzigsten Riitsels. 

Angha, X (1888), 390-394. 
Padelford, F. M. Old English Musical Terms. Bonner Beitrage zur Anglistik, 

IV. Bonn, 1899. 
SlEVERS, Eduard. Zu Cynewulf. Anglia, XIII (1S91), 1-2. 
SoNKE, Emma. Zu dem 25. Ratsel des Exeterbuches. Englische Studien, 

XXXVII (1906), 313-318. 
Strobl, Joseph. Zur Spruchdichtung bei den Angelsachsen. Haupts Zeitschrift, 

XXXI (1887), 55-56. 
Trautmann, Moritz. Cynewulf und die Ratsel. Anglia, VI (1S83), Anzeiger, 

pp. 158-169. 

Zum 89. (95.) Ratsel. Anglia, VII (1S84), Anzeiger, p. 210. 

Die Auflcisungen der altenghschen Ratsel. Anglia, Beiblatt, V (1894), 

46-51. 

Zu den altenghschen Ratsel. Anglia, XVII (1895), 396 f. 

Die Auflosung des elften Riitsels. Bonner Beitrage zur Anglistik, XVII 

(1905), 142. 
Alte und neue Antworten auf altenglische Ratsel. Bonner Beitrage zur 

Anglistik, XIX (1905), 167-215. 
TiipPEK, Frederick. Jr. Solutions of the Exeter Bopk Riddles. Modern Lan- 
guage Notes, XXI (1906), 97-105. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY CV 

Walz, J. A. Notes on the Anglo-Saxon Riddles. Harvard Studies, V (1896), 

261-268. 
WiJLKER, R. p. Grundriss zur Geschichte der angelsachsischen Litteratur, pp. 1 65- 

170. Leipzig, 1885. 

VL ORIGINALS AND ANALOGUES 

Arnason, Jon. Islenzkar Gatur. Copenhagen, 1887. 

Brandl, Alois. Shakespeares " Book of Merry Riddles " und die anderen Rat- 

selbiicher seiner Zeit. Jahrbuch der deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft, XLII 

(1906), 1-64. 
BuGGE, Soph us. Norr0ne Skrifter af Sagnhistorisk Indhold. Christiania, 1873. 
BuTSCH, A. F. Strassburger Ratselbuch. Die erste zu Strassburg urns Jahr 1505 

gedruckte deutsche Ratselsammlung. Strassburg, 1876. 
Chambers, Robert. Popular Rhymes of Scotland. London, 1870. 
Child, F. J. English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 5 vols. 1882-1898. 
DiJMMLER, E. Lorscher Ratsel. Haupts Zeitschrift, XXII (1877), 258-263. 
Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini (Monumenta Historica Germanica, I), pp. i f. 

(Boniface), 20 f. (Lorsch enigmas). Berlin, 1881. 
Ebert, Adolf. Die Ratselpoesie der Angelsachsen. Berichte liber die Verhand- 

lungen der koniglich sachsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 

Phil-Hist. Classe, April, 1877, XXIX, 20-56. 
Allgemeine Geschichte der Litteratur des Mittelalters im Abendlande, I, 

603, 653, etc. Leipzig, 1889. 
EcKART, Rudolf. Allgemeine Sammlung niederdeutscher Ratsel. Leipzig, 

1894. 
Friedreich, J. B. Geschichte des Riithsels. Dresden, i860. 
Giles, J. A. Sancti Aldhelmi ex abbate Malmesburiensi episcopi Schireburnensis 

Opera, pp. 249-270. Oxford, 1844. 
Groos, Karl. Die Spiele der Menschen. Jena, 1899. 

Hagen, Hermann. Antike und mittelalterliche Raethselpoesie. Bern, 1877. 
Hahn, Heinrich. Bonifaz und Lul. Leipzig, 18S3. 

Die Ratseldichter Tatwin und Eusebius. Forschungen zur deutschen Ge- 
schichte, XXVI (1886), 601 f. 
Haug, Martin. Vedische Rathselfragen und Rathselspriiche. Sitzungsberichte 

der koniglichen Akademie der Wissenschaft zu Miinchen, Phil. -Hist. Classe, II 

(1875). 457-51 5- 
Hayn, Hugo. Die deutsche Rathsel- Litteratur. Versuch einer bibliographischen 
Uebersicht bis zur Neuzeit. Centralblatt fiir Bibliothekswesen, VII (1890), 

515-556. 

Heusler, Andreas. Die Altnordischen Ratsel. Zeitschrift des Vereins fiir Volks- 
kunde, XI (1901), 117-149. 

Kemble, J. M. The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus, with an Historical In- 
troduction, printed for the /lilfric Society. London, 1848. 

Kohlf:r, Reinholi). Zwei und vierzig alte Ratsel und Fragen. Weimar Jahrbuch, 
V (1856), 329-356. 



Cvi RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

LiNDLEY, Ernest II. A Study of Puzzles with Special Reference to the Psy- 
chology of Mental Adaptation. American Journal of Psychology, VIII (1896- 

1S97), 431-493- 
Manitius, M. Zu Aldhelm und Baeda. Wien, 1S86. 
Geschichte der christlichlateinischen Poesie bis zur Mitte des 8. Jahrhun- 

derts. Stuttgart, 1S91. 
MiGNE, J. P. Patrologiae Cursus Completus Patrum Latinorum, XC (1S50), 

539 f. (Flores of Bede). 
MiJLLENHOFF, Karl. Nordische, englische und deutsche Riitsel. Wolfs Zeit- 

schrift fiir deutsche Mythologie, III (1S55), ^-~°> ^-4-^3-- 
Ohlert, Konr.\d. Ratsel und Gesellschaitsspiele der alten Griechen. Berlin, 

18S6. 
Petsch, Robert. Neue Beitrage zur Kenntnis des Volksriitsels. Palaestra IV. 

Berlin, 1899. 
PiTRE, GiusErrE. Indovinelli, Dubbi, Scioglilingua del Popolo Siciliano (Biblio- 

teca delle Tradizioni Popolari Siciliane, XX). Torino-Palermo, 1S97. 
Plutz, Hermann. Ueber den Saengerkrieg auf Wartburg nebst einem Beitrage 

zur Litteratur des Raethsels. ^Yeimar, 1851. 
Prehn, August. Komposition und Quellen der Ratsel des Exeterbuches. Neu- 

philologische Studien, Drittes Heft, pp. 145-285. Paderborn, 1SS3. Reviewed 

by Holthaus, Anglia, VII, Anzeiger, pp. 120 f. 
Reusner, Nicolas. Aenigmatographia sive Sylloge Aenigmatum et Griphorum 

Convivalium. Frankfort, 1602. 
RiESE, Alexander. Anthologia Latina. I, 221-246, Symphosii scholastici Aenig- 

mata. I, 351-370, Aenigmata Codicis Bernensis 611. Leipzig, 1S94. 
RoLL.\Nn, Eugene. Devinettes ou Enigmes populaires de la France. Avec une 

preface de M. Gaston Paris. Paris, 1877. 
ScHENKL, Karl. Zur Kritik spaterer lateinischer Dichter (St. Gall MS. 196, 

p. 390). Sitzungsberichte der phil.-hist. Classe der Kais. Akademie der Wissen- 

schaften (Wien), XLIII (1863), 17-18. 
Schleicher, August. Litauische Marchen, Sprichworte, Ratsel und Lieder, 

pp. 191-211. Weimar, 1857. 
SiMROCK, Karl. Das deutsche Rathselbuch. Dritte Auflage. Frankfurt a. M.,o. J. 
Therander, Huldrich. Aenigmatographia Rythmica. Magdeburg, 1605. 
TUPPER, Frederick, Jr. The Comparative Study of Riddles. Modern Language 

Notes, XVIII (1903), 1-8. 
Originals and Analogues of the E.xeter Book Riddles. Modern Language 

Notes, XVIII (1903), 97-106. 
The Holme Riddles (MS. Harl. i960). Publications of the Modern Language 

Association of America, XVIII (1903), 211-272. 

Riddles of the Bede Tradition. Modern Philology, II (1905), 561-572. 

Tylor, E. B. Primitive Culture. Fourth edition. London, 1903. 
Uhland, Ludwig. Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung und Sage. Stutt- 
gart, 1863. 
Wackernagel, Wilhelm. Sechzig Ratsel und Fragen (Augsburger Ratselbuch, 

' um 1515'). Haupts Zeitschrift, III (1843), -5~34- 



BIBLlOtJRAPHY Cvii 

WossiDLO, Richard. Mecklenburgische Volksiiberlieferungen. I. Teil (Ratsel). 

Wismar, 1897. 
Wright, Thomas. Anglo-Latin Satirical Poets, II, 525-573. Rolls Series, 1S72. 
WUnsche, August. Ratselweisheit bei den Hebraem. Leipzig, 18S3. 
Das Ratsel vom Jahr und seinen Zeitabschnitten in der Weltlitteratur. 

Kochs Zeitschrift fiir vergleichende Lilleraturgeschichte, N. F., IX (1896), 

425-456. 

VII. OLD ENGLISH LIFE AND CULTURE* 

Akerman, J. Y. Remains of Pagan Saxondom. London, 1S55. 

Andrews, C. M. The Old English Manor. Johns Hopkins University Studies, 

extra vol. 12. Baltimore, 1882. 
Bell, Thomas. The History of British Quadrupeds. London, 1874. 
BuDDE, Erich. Die Bedeutung der Trinksitten in der Kultur der Angelsachsen. 

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CoRTELYOU, J. VAN Z. Die altenglische Namen der Insekten, Spinnen- und Krus- 

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De Baye, The Baron, Joseph. The Industrial Arts of the Anglo-Saxons. Trans- 
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Du Chaillu, p. B. The Viking Age. New York, 1890. 
Fairholt, F. \V. Costume in England. London, 1885. 
Grimm, Jacob. Teutonic Mythology. Translated from the fourth edition by 

Stallybrass, J. S. London, 1S82-1888. 
Gummere, F. B. Germanic Origins. New York, 1892. 
Harting, J. E. Extinct British Animals. London, 1880. 
Hehn, Victor. Kulturpflanzen und Ilausthiere in ihrem Uebergang aus Asien. 

Siebente Auflage.' Berlin, 1902. 
Hewitt, John. Ancient Armor and Weapons in Europe. Oxford, 1855-1860. 
Heyne, Moritz. Ueber Lage und Construction der Halle Heorot im angelsjich- 

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Fiinf Biicher deutscher Hausaltertiimer, 3 vols. Leipzig, 1899-1903. 

IIoDGETTS, J. F. Older England. London, 1884. 

Hoops, Johannes. Ueber die altenglischen Pflanzennamen. Freiburg, 1SS9. 

WaldbJiume und Kulturpflanzen im germanischen Altertum. Strassburg, 1905. 

Jordan, Richard. Die altenglischen Saugetiernamen. Heidelberg, 1903. 

Eigentiimlichkeiten des anglischen Wortschatzes. Heidelberg, 1906. 

Keller, May L. Anglo-Saxon Weapon Names. Heidelberg, 1906. 

Kemble, J. M. The Saxons in England. London, 1876. 

Knight, Charles. A Pictorial History of England, vol. I. London, 1855. 

Klump, W^ilhelm. Die altenglischen Handw-erknamen. Heidelberg, 1908. 

Lehmann, Hans. Ueber die Waffen im ags. Beowulfliede. Germania, XXXI 

(1886), 487 f. 

Brunne und Helm im ags. Beowulfliede. Leipzig, 1885. 

Leo, IIeinkich. Rectitudines Singularum Personarum. Halle, 1842. 

* This list includes only the more frequent references. The illuminated MSS. and grave-finds of 
the Old English period in the British Museum have been examined. 



cviii KlDDl.KS OF THE EXETER P.OOK 

LiEBERMANN, FiiLix. Gercfa. Anglia, IX (1886), 251-265. 

LuNiNG, Otto. Die Natur, ihre Auffassung und poetische Verwendung in der 
altgermanischen und mittelliochdeutschen Epii<. Ziirich, iS8y. 

Mead, W. E. Color in Old English Poetry. Publication.s of the Modern Lan- 
guage Association of America, XIV (1899), 169-206. 

Meuhach, Hans. Das Meer in der Dichtung der Angelsachsen. Breslau, 18S4. 

Merhot, Reinhoi.d. Aesthetische Studien zur ungelsiichsischen Poesie. Bres- 
lau, 1883. 

RoEHKR, K. Die Familie bei den Angelsachsen. Halle, 1899. 

ScHMin, Reinhdi.I). Die Oesetze der Angelsachsen. Leipzig, 185S. 

ScHiu.TZ, Alwin. Das hiifische Leben zur Zeit der Minnesinger. Leipzig, 
1 879-1 880. 

Smith, C. Roach. Collectanea Antiquu. London, 1S6S. 

Stkutt, Joseph. Horda Angelcynnan. London, 1775. 

Dress and Habits of the People of England. London, 1842. 

Sports and Pastimes of the People of England. London, 1903. 

Traill, H. D. Social England, vol. L Second edition. New York and Lon- 
don, 1894. 

Turner, Sharon. The History of the Anglo-Saxons. Seventh edition. Lon- 
don, 1S52. 

WAirKNUACH, WiLHELM. Das Schriftwcsen im Mittelalter. Zweite Auflage. 
Leipzig, 1875. 

Weinhold, Karl. Altnordisches Leben. Berlin, 1856. 

Deutsche Frauen. Berlin, 1882. 

West\Vooi>, |. O. Facsimiles of Miniatures and Ornaments of Anglo-Sa.xon and 
Irish Manuscripts. Oxford, 1S68. 

"Whitm.\n, C. 11. Birds of Old English Literature. Journal of Germanic Philol- 
ogy II (1898), 149 f- 

The Old English Animal Names. Anglia, XXX (1907), 3S0-393. 

Wright, Thomas. A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England 
in the Middle Ages. London, 1846. 

Anglo-Saxon and Old F-nglish Vocabularies. Second edition by WiJLKER, 

R. P. London, 1S84. 

The Celt, the Roman and the Saxon. Fourth edition. London, 1885. 

Note. Readings and suggestions ascribed to the general editors of this series, 
Professors Bright and Kittredge, are drawn from personal communications to 
the editor. 



ABBREVIATIONS 



A. L. Aitcie?ti Laius (Thorpe). 
And. Andreas (Krapp's edition). 
Anth. Lat. Riese, Ant/iolog-ia Latina. 
A MS. Atizeiger. 



Diiht. Grein, Dichtungen der Aiigel- 

stic7/st'/t. 
Diet. Sweet, Student's Dictionary of 

Anglo-Saxon. 



Ap. The Fates of the Apostles, Bibl. II, Dietr. Dietrich, Ilaupts Zs., XI, XII. 



87-91. 
Archiv, Ilerrigs Archiv. Archiv filr 

das Studium der neueren Sprachen 

und Litteraturen. 
A.-S. Anglo-Saxon. 
Az. Azarias, Bibl. II, 491-520. 

Barnouw. Textkritische Untersiichun- 

gen. 
BB. Bo>itier Beit rage zitr Anglistik. 
Bb. Anglia, Beiblatt. 
Beow. Beowulf Bibl. I, 149-277. 
Bibl. Grein-Wiilker, Bibliothek der 

angelsdchsischen Poesie. 
Bl. Blackburn, Jouj-nal of Germanic 

Philology, III, if. 
Bl. Horn. B tickling J/otnilies. 
B. M. British Museum transcript. 
Brun. Battle of Brunanburh, Bibl. I, 

374-379- 
B.-T. Bosworth-Toller, Anglo-Saxon 

Dictionary. 

Chr. Christ (Cook's edition). 
Cleasby-Vigfusson. Icelandic- English 

Dictionary. 
Con. Conybeare, Illustrations. 
Cos. Cosijn. 

C.P. Miiller, Cdthefier Program »i . 
Cr. De Creatura (Aldhelm). 
Craft. Bi Monna Cncftuin, \V\h\. Ill, 

140-143. 

Da7i. Daniel, Bibl. II, 476-515. 
Deor. Deor''s Lament, Bibl. I, 278-280. 



Dream. Dream of the Rood, Bibl. II, 
1 16-125. 

Edd. Editors. 

E. E. Lit. Brooke, Early English Lit- 
erature. 

E. E. T. S. Early English Text So- 
ciety. 

El. Elene, Bibl. II, 126-201. 

E. S., Engl. Stud. Englische Studien. 

Ettm. Ettmliller, Engla and Seaxna 
Scopas. 

Exod. Exodus, Bibl. II, 445-475. 

Fad. Eicder larcividas, Bibl. I, 353- 

357- 
Fates. Fates of Men {^Pi Manna Wyr- 

dum), Bibl. Ill, 148-151. 
Frucht. Metrisches und Sprachliches. 

Gen. Genesis, Bibl. II, 318-444. 

Gn. Grein, Bibliothek. 

Gn.2 Grein, Germania, X, 423. 

Gn. Cot. Gnomes of the Cotton A/S., 

Bibl. I, 338-341- 
Gn. E.x. Gnomes of Exeter Book. Bibl. 

I. 341-352- 
C,r^ Sievers, Old English Grammar, 

third edition. 
Grundriss. Wiilker, Grundriss zur 

Geschichte der angelsdchsischen Litte- 

ratur. 
Gil. Guthlac, Bibl. Ill, 54-94. 



ex 



KIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



liar. Harrowing of IIcll, Bibl. Ill, Met. Meters of Boeihius,V^\h\.\\\,2A,-]- 

175-180. 303. 

Haiipts Zs., II. Z. Zeitschrft fin- Jenl- 

se/ies Altertliuin. 
Herzf., Ileizfeld. Die Kiitscl des E.xeter- 

hue lies. 
//. .1/. Husband's Message. Bibl. I, 309- 

Holth. IIohhaiKsen. 

Horn. Horn Hies. 

Horda. Stiutt, Ilorda Angeleynna. 

Hpt. Gl. Angelsachsische Glossen 

{Haupts Zs. IX, 401-530). 
//r. Hymns, Bibl. II, 211-2S1. 



M. II. G. Middle High German. 
M I. X. Modern language Xotes. 
Mod. Bi Mauna Mode, Bibl. Ill, 144- 

147. 
M. />., Mod. Phil. Modern Pliilology. 

X. E. D. Xeio English Dictionary. 

O. E. Old Enj;lish. 

O. F. Old French. 

O. n.G. Old High German. 

O. N. Old Nor.'ie. 



Icel. Icelandic. 

/. /■". hidogermanische Eorschungen. 

I. G. Islcnzkar Gdtur. 

Jansen. Beitrdge ziir Sytionyniik. 
Jud. Judith, Bibl. Ill, 1 17-139. 
Jul. Juliana, Bibl. II, 294-314. 

Keller. Miss Keller, Anglo-Saxon 

JVeapon A'atnes. 
Kl. Kluge, A ngelsdelisise/ies I.esebuch. 
Klaeb. Klaeber. 
Kp. u. Ht. Hehn, Kulturpfanzen und 

Ilausthiere. 

Lchd. Cockayne, Leechdoms. 

Leas. Bi Monna Lease, Bibl. II, loS- 

1 10. 
Leid. Leiden Riddle. 
Litt-Bl. Deutseltes litteratur-Blatt. 

M. Midler, Colleetanea. 

Madert. Die Spraclte der altenglisch'en Sat. Christ and Satan, Bibl. II, 521- 

Kdtsel. 562. 

Maid. Battle of Maldon, Bibl. I, 35S- Sch. Schipper, Genua nia, XIX, 32S- 

-.■7-. ^,c 

McL. McLean, Old and Middle Eng- Schmid. Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen. 

lish Reader. Seaf Seafarer, Bibl. I, 290-295. 
M. E. Middle English. Shipley. The Genitive Case in Anglo- 
Men. Menologium, Bibl. II, 2S2-293. Sa.von Poetry. 



Pan. Panther, Bibl. Ill, 164-166. 
PBB. Paul und Braune's Beitrdge zur 

Geschiihte der deuischeti Spraehe und 

Literatur. 
Ph. Phani.v, Bibl. Ill, 95-116. 
/'. /.. Patrologia Latina. 
P. M L. A. Publications of the Modern 

Language Association of America. 
Prehn. Kotnposition und Quellen der 

Rats el des E.xeterhuches. 
Ps. Psalms, Bibl. Ill, 329-4S2. 
Ps. Psalms (Vulgate). 

R. Rieger, Alt- und angelsdchsisches 

Lesebuch. 
Rid. Riddles. 
R. S. P. Rectitudines Singularum Per- 

sonarum. 
Run. Runic Poem, Bibl. I, 331-337. 

Sal. Salomon ond Saturn, Bibl. Ill, 
304-3 2 S. 



ABBREVIATIONS Cxi 

Siev. Sievers. ]]'/>. n. Kp. Hoops, IVahibiiume itiid 

St'///. So/// (///(/ Pfldy, Ribl. II, 92- K/i/t/irpJlai/zen. 

107. Wilis. Wilis i&, Bibl. I, 1-6. 

Spy. Grt\n, Spraciisckaiz. Wond. Woi/ders of Creatio/z^WWA. Ill, 

Sw. ^\SQii.\., Angio-Saxon Reader. 152-155. 

Sym. Symphosius. Wossidlo. i\icck/ci//n/rgisc//el'o/l;s/'//>cr- 

liefer// i/gc I/. 

T. Editor's reading of MS., usually WW. Wright -Wiilker, A/zg/o-Saxo// 

cited in first person. ai/d 0/d F.i/g/isl/ Vocabiz/arics. 
Til. Thorpe, Codex Exoniensis. 

Tr. Trautmann. Zs. d. I'.f 17:. /.e/tsc//rift des I'ere/ns 

fi/r T'o/Zces/cz/i/dc. 

W . Wiilker (Assmann), Bibliotiiek der Zs. f d. M. Zeitsci/r/ft fiir de//tsi//e 

(./)/ge/sdcl/sisc//en Poesie, III, 183- J\/yt//o/ogie. 

238. Zs. f d. PI/. Ze/tscl/rift fiir de/ttsche 

Wand. Wanderer, I5ibl. I, 2S4-289. P//i/o/ogie. 



RIDDLES OF 
THE EXETER BOOK 

I 

[Leodum is mlnum swylce him mon lac gife : [loo^mid] 

willaS hy hine apecgan, gif he on preat cymeS. 

Ungelic is us. 

Wulf is on lege, ic on oj^erre ; 

faest is fset eglond fenne biworpen, 5 

sindon waelreowe weras peer on ige : 

willat5 hy hine aj'ecgan, gif he on preat cymeS. 

Ungelice is lis. 

Wulfes ic mines widlastum wenum hogode ; 

fonne hit wses renig weder ond ic reotugu saet, lo 

fonne mec se beaducafa bogum bilegde : 

wses me wyn to )'on, waes me hwgepre eac laS. 

[Mm] wTalf, min wulf, wena me pine 

seoce gedydon, }nne|seldcymas, [loi*] 

murnende m5d, nales meteliste. 15 

Gehyrest )m, Eadvvacer? Uncerne earne hwelp 

I I Leo [Quae de se ipso Cynewulfus tradiderit, Halle, iS^j, p. 22), Imelmann 
{Die altenfflisc/ie Odoaker-Diclitung, Berlin, igoj, p. 24) gefe. — 2 hnelmann in 
Keate. — -^Imelmann ungelimp. ^ 6 T?-aiit)iiaini (Anglia v'l, 158) w3el[h]reowe. 
Intel, her on ege. — 7 Lnel. hie a?[d in Jjieate. — 8 A'liige ungelic ; Imel. unge- 
limp. — 9 MS., Edd. dogode ; Leo do gode ; Hicketier {Anglia x, 579), Schofield 
{Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc, xvii, 267), Imel. hogode. — 10 Gn. waeter {misprint); 
Kl. waster. MS., Th. reo tugu ; hnel. reotigu. — 12 Holt/iausen {Anglia xv, 88) 
"■instead 0/ -wyn, leof and laS hwashre eac, or wyn and wa {wea) /or la's*; Imel. 
defends text, citing as examples of \i . . . hw alliteration Leiden Rid. 11, Gu. 323, 
Beow. 2299 {Heyne^s note). — 13. Holth. Wulf, min Wulf, la!; Biilbring {Litt.-Bl. 
xii, 157) min Wulf, min Wulf ; Imel. Wulf se min Wulf. Holth. weama? for wena; 
Imel. wene. — 14 Imel. gededun. — 15 MS., Th. mete liste ; Holth. {Litt.-Bl. x, 
447) metes liste and murnend[n]e mod ; Imel. metelestu. — 16 Imel. georstu/br 
gehyrest J^u. Schofield eadwacer {'very vigilant'). Holth. earmne/fr earne. 

I 



2 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

birecS wulf to wiida. 

]?net mon ea)'e tosliteS J>aette nafre gesomnad waes, 

uncer giedd geador.] 

2 

Hwylc is hrelej'a j'tes horse end Y?es hygecraeftig 

yxt ]^xt niKge asecgan, hwa mec on siiS wrcEce, 

J)onne ic astlge strong, stundum rej'e 

))rymful ))unie? J'ragum wr?ec(c)a 

fere geond foldan, folcsalo bivrne, 5 

raeced reafige, recas stigacN 

haswe ofer hrofum, hlin bi(S on eorj'an, 

wcelcwealm wera. }'>onne ic \\udu hrere, 

bearwas bledhwate, beamas fylle 

holme gehrefed, heahuni meahtum 10 

wrecan on waj'e wide sended, 

hfebbe me on hrycge |'?et xr hadas wreah 

foldbiiendra, flasc ond gSstas, 

somoil on sonde. Saga, hwa mec ))ecce, 

o)>])e hu ic hatte )'e ]>a hl^st bere. 15 

3 

Hwihuii ic gewite, swa ne wena]' men, 
under yl)a gel'r^c eor|>an secan, 
garsecges grund. Gifen bi|) gewreged, 
, fam gewealcen ; 

hwa:hiiero hlimmei^, hlude grimmecS ; 5 

18 Hicketier he /<>/■ ban. Gn., A'L, Imcl. gesomnod. — 19 Herzfeld {Die Hiitsel 
des Exeterhiiches, Berlin, /Sqo, p. 66) n/n/ Sc/iojie/ii gved geador; Intel, gaed gador. 

2 4^/5"., Th., Gn., IT. wr.xce ; Sier: {PBB. x, 510) wrSce ; Herzf. (p. 44) 
\vi"rcc{c)a? — 7 /// MS. y is '.critten i//'i>t'c" i in hlin /// another hand. — 10 Cos. 
(PBB. xxiii, 128) helme. MS., Th. heanu. — 11 MS., Edd. wrecan; Cos. wrecen. 
Th. sende ? — 14 MS. sunde ; Th. on sunde [trans. ' safely ') ; Gn. sande. Gn. wecce ? 
— 15 Th. )'e he. 

3 3 Th. note geofon ; Etttn. gyfen. — 4 Etttn. proposes flod arasred; Gn. flod 
afysed. Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 12S) famge wealcan {cf. PBB. xxi, 19, to And. 1524). 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 3 

streamas staj'u beataS, stundum weorpa]> 

on stealc hleo))a stane ond sonde, 

ware ond waege, ponne ic winnende, 

holmmaegne bij'eaht, hrusan styrge, 

side sffigrundas : sundhelme ne mseg 10 

losian £er mec late, se ))e min latteow biS 

on sij'a gehwam. Saga, poncol mon, 

hwa mec bregde of brimes faej^mum, 

I'onne streamas eft stille weorj'aiS, 

ypa gejm£ere, )'e mec ffir wrugon. 15 

4 

|Hwilum mec mln frea fseste genearwaS, [loi'^] 

sendeS j'onne under sSlwonge 

bearm [pone] bradan ond on bid wriceS, 

frafaS on J'ystrum prymma sumne 

hjeste on enge, ])£er me heard sitefi 5 

hrOse on hrycge : nah ic hwyrftweges 

of j'am aglace, ac ic epelstol 

hselepa hreru : hornsalu wagia^, 

wera wicstede ; weallas beofiacS 

steape ofer stiwitum. Stille pynceS 10 

lyft ofer londe ond lagu swige, 

ojjpaet ic of enge up apringe 

7 MS., Th., R., IV. stealc hleo^a; Ettm. stealchleoj'U. Gn. hleo^u ? Compare 
58^. Ettfft. sande. — 1 1 Ettm. ladteow. 

4 There is no sign of closing after Rid. 3, nor spacing in the MS. between 3 and 4 
{^perhaps because 3 ends the page), and hwilum begins loith a small letter ; but the 
preceding formula clearly marks the close of a riddle. — i Siev. {PBB. x, 479) frea 
resolved. — 2 MS., Git., IV. salwonge ; Gn. sahvongas ? Th., Ettm. saelwonge. — 
3 Herzf (p. 68) _/t>r tnetrical reasons supplies on; Holthausen (Anglia xiii, 358) 
J>one. MS. onbid; Th., Ettm. on bed.— 5 MS., Th., Gn., W. haetst ; Cos. haeste 
= Jjurh haest. MS., Gn., W. heord; Th. note, Spr. ii, 68, Cos. heard. — 6 Th., Ettm., 
Gn. hwyrft weges; Gji."^ hwyrft-weges. — 7 A/S. aglaca. — 8 MS. hrera; Tk., Ettm. 
hrere. — 10 Ettm. stigwicum .' — 12 a /;/ a^ringe is written above the line in 
another hand. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

efne swa mec wisap se mec wrgede on 

set frumsceafte furjmm legde 

bende ond clomme, )';"et ic onbugan ne mot 15 

of ))ces gewealde )'e nie wegas tEecneS. 

Hwilum ic sceal ufan y))a wregan, 

[streamas] styrgan ond to staj'e |'ywan 

fiintgragne flod : famig winnefi 

\v£eg \vi(S wealle ; wonn arise8 20 

dun ofer dype, hyre deorc on last, 

eare geblonden, 6|)er fereft, 

])cet hy gemittafi mearclonde neah 

hea hlincas. ^^xv biS hlud wudii, 

brimgiesta breahtm ; bidatS stille 25 

stealc stanhleoj'u streamgewinnes, 

hopgehnastes, ))onne heah gearing 

on cleofu crydeS : j'ser bi8 ceole wen 

slij're scEcce, gif hine sje byrefi 

on )'a grimman tid, gsesta fulne, 30 

)>aet he scyle rice birofen weorpan, 

feore bifohten fgmig ridan 

y))a hrycgum : |'£er bicS egsa sum 

haelejmm geyvved, para J'e ic hyran sceal 

strong on sti?ivveg : hwa gestille(S |)?et? 35 

Hwilum ic |)urhraese j'cet me rideJS on baece, 

won wiegfatu, I wide to|»ringe [102*] 

lagustreama full, hwilum IsEte eft 



13 AfS., T/i. wraede; £/im., Gn., IF. wras'Se. — 18 MS. no gap; T/i. supplies 
streamas. MS., T/i. hyran ; 77/. 7iote hywan .'* — 20 Eitm., Gn. won. — 22 Tk. note 
ear-geblonde ? — 23 Ettm., Gn. hi. Tit. tiote gemetaS ? Eittn. gemeta'5. — 27 Spr. 
ii, 47 heahgehring. — zt) Ettnt. bireS. — 31 MS., T/i., Eitm., IV. rice; T/i. note 
ricene ? Gn. rice (<ricu); Klaeh. {AI. P. ii, 144) rince. — 32 Klaeh. fere {^danger). 
— 2,1 Ettrn., Gn. by'S. — 34 MS., T/i., Gn., IV. aeldum ; Ettm. ealdum ; luxlej'um? 
Gn. (Spr. ii, 774) yppan ? — 36 MS., Th., Gft., IV. on baece ride'^'; Ettm. ridat5; 
Gn. note {Herzf. p. 45) rideS on ba;ce ? 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 5 

slupan tosomne. Se bi6 swega msest, 

breahtma ofer burgum, ond gebreca hludast, 40 

))onne scearp cyme6 sceor wi]' o)?rum, 

ecg wi6 ecge : eorpan gesceafte 

fus ofer folcum fyre sw£eta6, 

blacan iTge, ond gebrecu feraS 

deorc ofer dreohtum gedyne micle, 45 

faraS feohtende, feallan iJetaS 

sweart sumsendu seaw of bosme, 

waetan of wombe. Winnende fareS 

atol eoredj'reat, egsa astlgeS, 

micel modj'rea monna cynne, 50 

brogan on burgum, fonne blace scotiaS 

scrTpende scin scearpum wEepnum. 

Dol him ne ondradeS Sa deaSsperu, 

swylteS hwsepre, gif him so6 meotud 

on geryhtu jnirh regn ufan 55 

of gestune IseteS strsele fleogan, 

f'erende flan : fea j^aet gedyga'5 

]'ara )ie gerEeceS rynegiestes wsepen. 

Ic J'ses orleges or anstelle, 

|)onne gewite wolcengehnaste 60 

|)urh ge))rcec ]'ringan J>rimme micle 

ofer byrnan bosm : biersteS hliide 

heah hlo?)gecrod ; ])onne hnige eft 

under lyfte helm londe near 

41 MS., Edd. sceo ; Cos. sceor. — 42 MS., Th. earpan ; Th. note eor^n or ear- 
man ? Ett. eorpan. Eittn., Gn. gesceafta. — 45 MS., Edd. dreontum ; Th. note., 
Spr. i, 204 dreohtum (dryhtum) ? G71. dreongum = drengum } Holth. {E. S. xxxvii, 
206) dreorgum {"traicrigen"). — 47 MS. {T.) sweartsum sendu ; 77/. note sweart- 
sum sende'5 ? — 50 Siev. {PBB. x, 479-480) resolves -J)rea. — 51 Th. note broga ? 
Ettm. breostum instead of burgum. — 54 Ettm. swilte'S. — 55 Ettin. gerihtum. — 
57 MS., Edd. farende. Siev. {PBB. x, 480), flanas ? — 58 A/S., IV. geraece-S; 
Th., Ettm., Gn. gerteca'S. Th. note regn-gastes ? — 61 MS., IV. J>rinime. Th., 
Ettm., Gn. J>rymme. — 62 Gn. burnan ? — 64 Siev. {PBB. x, 478) resolves near. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER lK~)OK 

ond me [on] hrycg hlade )>a2t ic habban sceal, 65 

meahtum gemanad mines frean. 

Swa ic, ]>rymful peow, |>ragum winne 

hwihini under eorj'an, hwiluni y|ia sceal 

hean underhnigan, hwiluni hohn ufan 

streamas styrge, hwilum stige ilj), 70 

wolcnfare wrege, wide fere 

swift ond swi))feorm. | Saga hw;vt ic hatte, [102'^] 

o))lie hwa mec r^re |>oinie ic restan ne mot, 

oJ')>e hwa mec stffiSpe J'onne ic stille beom. 



Ic sceal j'ragbysig l>egne minum, 

hringum hefted, hyran georne, 

min bed brecan, brcahtme cyl'an 

yxt me halswril'an hlaford sealde. 

Oft mec slsepwerigne secg 0(^|)e meowle 5 

gretan eode ; ic him gromheortum 

winterceald oncwej'e ; [A'"''] 7i'<-(7jy//\_(-'] lim 

gelnindenne beag bersteJS hwiluni, 

se I'eah bi)' on I'once ))egne minum, 

medwisum men, me l)ret sylfe, 10 

])Sr wiht wite ond wordum min 

on sped mrtge spel gesecgan. 



65 Gfi., JV. add on. 77/. note hebban ? — 66 Sie?'. {PBB. x, 479) resolves frean. 

— 69 MS., Con., Th., Ettin. heah ; Gti., IT. hean. Jl/S. {T.), Ettm. under hnigan. 

— 71 Ettm., Gn. wolcenfare. 

5 I MS., T/i. )>rag bysig ; /:"//';«. )'rage bysig ; hragbysig ? or l>rajcby.sig ? Gn., If. 
)>ragbysig. — 2 A/S., Th. hringan. — 7 MS. wearm lim; 77/. note wearme limu ? 
Ettm. wearmum limum ; Iloltli. (/. /•'. iv, 3S6) wearm lim[wa:dum]. — 8 MS., F.dd. 
gebundenne ; Ettm. gebunden. MS., Th. b.xg ; Th.note beag. MS., TIi. hwilum 
berste'iS ; 77/. note berstaS. After 1 /;/ hwilum, an o is erased. — 10 Ettm., Gn. 
silfe. — 1 1 Ettm. se J>ser. — i i-i 2 MS. min onsped ; 77/. minon sped ; note spede ? 
or spedum? Ettm. minum [ spede. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 7 

6 

Ic eom anhaga iserne wund, 

bille gebennad, beadoweorca ssed, 

ecgum wErig. Oft ic wig seo, 

frecne feohtan, frofre ne wene, 

))?et me geoc cyme giiiSgewinnes, 5 

£er ic mid cEldum eal forwurde ; 

ac mac hnossiaJS homera lafe, 

heardecg heoroscearp hondweorc smipa, 

bitacS in buigum ; ic abidan sceal 

laj'ran gemotes. Naefre lEEcecynn 10 

on folcstede findan meahte, 

))ara J^e mid wyrtum wunde gehslde, 

ac me ecga dolg eacen weorftaS 

]mrh dea'Sslege dagum ond nihtum. 

7 

Mec gesette so(S sigora waldend 

Crist to compe : oft ic cwice baerne, 

iinrimu cyn, eorpan getenge, 

nsete mid nlpe, swa ic him no hrlne, 

fonne mec frea min feohtan hate)'. 5 

Hwilum ic monigra mod arete, 

hvvilum ic frefre ]>a ic aer winnejon [103^] 

feorran swipe ; hi J»aes felacS pcah 

6 3 Si£7,'. {PBB. X, 476) 7-esolves seo. — 5 MS., AI., Th. mec. — 6 Ettm. ildum. 
Gn. call. Ettm. forwurSe ; Gn. forwurSe .' — 7 Ettni. lafa. — 8 MS., Tk. iweorc ; 
Th. note handweorc ; AI., Ettm., Git., A', handweorc ; IV. hondweorc. — 9 MS., 
Th., Ettm., /i'. abidan ; Gii., W. a bidan. — 10 A', lal'ra. — 13 Sp>-. i, 251, eaden ? 
Ettm. weoriSe'S. 

7 iV. ' A'ach nihtum ist die Iidlfte der zeile fret, atif ihr ste/it ilher Crist die 
rtuie S.' — 4 Th. note swa-J>eah .'' — 5 Siev. {PBI3. x, 479) frea resolved ; MS., 
Edd. min frea; Holth. (Bb. ix, 357) friga min. — 7 [wel] before frefre added by 
Git., JV. Th. note frefrige. Th. note )'a l^e ? 



8 RIDDLES OF THK EXETER BOOK 

swylce l)?es 6)'res, |)onne ic eft hyra 

ofer deop gedreag drohtaS bete. lo 

8 
Hraegl min swigaS j)onne ic hrusan trede 
oj'j'c )'a wic buge o)'|)e wado drefe. 
Hwilum mec ahebbacS ofer hailel)a byht 
hyrste mine ond peos hea lyft, 

ond mec ponne wide vvolcna strengu 5 

ofer folc byre?i. Frretwe mine 
swogaeN lilude ond swinsiacS, 
torhte singacS, |)onne ic getenge ne beom 
fiode ond foldan, ferende gSst. 

9 

Ic )>urh mu}' sprece mongum reordum, 

wrencum singe, wrixle geneahhe 

heafodwo)'e, hliide cirme, 

healde mine wisan, hleo)'re ne mi|'e, 

eald aefensceop, eorlum bringe 5 

blisse in burgum |)onne ic bugendre 

stefne stymie ; stille on wicum 

sitta(S swTgende. Saga hwoet ic hatte 

)'e swa scirenige sceawendwisan 

10 MS., Th. betan ; Gn. bete ; Spr. i. 99 betan [sceal]. Ruitc S stands at close 
of the riddle. 

8 I Th. note swoga'S ? — 4 Sier. {PfiB. x, 47S) resolves hea; I/olth. {Bb. ix, 
357) hea[e]. — 6 Ettm. bire^'. Ettm. franwa. — 7 Ettm. swinsja'5 eac. — 9 (Jn. 
giest ; S'w. gast. 

9 The rune C is orrr this riddle on line 7cith ferende g^st (8^). — 4 Th. note 
hleohor; Ettm. hleoSor; Gn. hleoiSres; Gn.- hleoiNre (inst.). — 8 MS., Th. siteS; 
Ettm. sita'5; Gn., IV., Cos. sittaJ!. MS., Th., Gn., IF. nigende ; Gn. hnigende ? 
Ettm., Cos. swigende. — 9 MS (T.) ha swa scirenige ; Th. ha swa scire nige ; Th. 
note he; Ettm. scirenige; Gn. 'scirenige, scurriliter? vgl. Graff \\, 549-55''; 
Spr. ii, 296 scire nige {ist pers. sg. (/nigan); Bosivorth-Toller, p. S37, scire cige ; 
Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 128) 'scirenige is to be changed to sciernicge — scericge, tnima, 
Shr. 140; scearecge, /iv.' 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



9 



hlude onhyrge, haelefum bodige lo 

wilcumena fela wope minre. 

10 

Mec on dagum jjissum deadne ofgeafun 

faeder ond modor, ne waes me feorh ]>a. gen, 

ealdor in innan. p>a mec [an] ongon, 

wel hold mege, wedum j^eccan, 

heold ond freo]>ode, hleosceorpe wrah 5 

sue arlice swa hire agen beam, 

o})})get ic under sceate, swa mln gesceapu weeron, 

ungesibbum wearS eacen gaeste. 

Mec seo frij^e mseg fedde sij>))an, 

ojjfset ic aweox[e], widdor meahte 10 

si})as asettan ; heo haefde s\v£esra| j)y Ises [103''] 

suna ond dohtra, ))y heo swa dyde. 

II 

Neb waes min on nearwe, ond ic neo))an waetre, 

flode underlflowen, firgenstreamum 

swipe besuncen ; ond on sunde aw5x, 

ufan y|)um jjcaht, anum getenge 

hfendum wuda lice mine. 5 

Hsefde feorh cvvico j'a ic of f?eSmum cwom 

II Ettm. welcumena. 

10 I MS., Edd. on J>issum dagum; Holtli. {E.S. xxxvii, 206) dagum Hssum or 
J>issum dogrum. MS. ofgeafum. — 2 Tk., Gn. moder. — 3 Gn. on ; S^v. oninnan. 
C«., Sw. [ides] ; Gitr [an]. Gn?- ongan ; Szu. ongonn. — 4 MS (T.) wel (end of line) 
hold mege wedum weccan. Ilolth. {Bb. ix, 357) wilhold. Th., Gn., W. gewedum ; 
Sw. gewasdum ; Cos., Holth. mege wedum. Edd. J^eccan. — 6 MS., Tk. snearlice ; 
Tk. note searolice .' Gn., W. swa arlice ; Stv. suse arlice ; Co.<:. sue arlice (cf. 16*). 
— 7 Sw. o\> J>a£t. Tk. note mine. — 9 MS., Tk., Diclr. {I/Z. xii, 251) frij^e masg; 
Gn., IV. in\>emveg. Tk. note mseg'S. — 10 MS., Edd. aweo.x ; Iloltk. [E. S. xxxvii, 
206) aweox[e]. Gn., W. widor; Cos. compares ei^". 

1X2 Th. gives incorrectly AIS. reading as floren. — 3 Tr. {BB. xix, 169) on 
sande grof. — 6 Gn. feorh -cwico. 



lO RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

brimes ond beames on blacum hrtegle ; 

sumc wjeron hwite h\Tste mine, 

]k\ mec lifgende lyft upp ahof, 

wintl of wSge, si|)l>an wulc hxv lo 

ofcr seolhba)>o. Saga hwxt ic hatte. 

12 

Mi\Tgl is min hasofag, hyrste beorhte 

rcatlc oml scire on reafe [.v///</]. 

Ic dysge dvvelle, ond dole hwette 

unr£edsi|>as, o|>rinai styre 

nyttre fore. Ic )ws nowiht wat 5 

|>;vt heo swa gcniaidde, mode hestolene, 

deede gedwolene, deoraj' mine 

won wisan gehwam. W'a him J>aiS j'eawes, 

si]>l)an heah pringeJS horda deorast, 

gif hi nnriSdes cEr ne geswicaj) ! lO 

13 

Fotum ic fere, foldan slite, 

grenc wongas, |)enden ic gSst bere. 

Gif me feorh losatN, fa^ste binde 

swearte Wealas, hwihim sellan men. 

Hwihmi ic deornm (bincan selle 5 

beorne of bosme, hwdum mec bryd triedeiS 

felawlonc fotum, hwilum feorran broht 

wonfeax \\'ale wegecN ond I'Vi'S, 

7 Tr. bearnies. J/S., Tit. hra?gl. — S Ettin. hyista. 

12 2 The second half line is oh'iously defective : Gn. adds minum, 'which Holth. 
rejects, proposing min; Tr. {BB. xix, 173) [hafo]. — 3 IV. drops Ic. — 4 JAS". 
unrred sihas ; Edd. unra;dsi|ias ; Ilerzf. (p. 6S) on unraedsil'as or unrxdgesihas ; Tr. 
unr.xdsiha. — 9 Tr. hearm /(>/■ heah. MS., Edd. bringeS; Cos. )>ringe'6'. 

13 6 MS., Th. beorn ; Ettm. beornum. — S Ettvt. note hyS= |>y\ve•^■; Siev. {PBB. 
X, 477) resolves |>y^'; Cos. {PBB. xxiii. 129) |'y[h]eS. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK II 

dol druncmennen deorcum nihtum, 

waetcS in wcetre, wyrmecS hwilum lo 

fSgre to fyre ; me on f^JSme stica]) 

hygegalan bond, hwyrfeJS geneahhe, 

swifefi me geond sweartne. Saga | hwoet ic hatte [ 1 04-^] 

])e ic lifgende lond reafige 

ond aifter dea]>e dryhtum peowige. 15 

14 

Ic seah turf tredan, tyn wjeron ealra, 

six gebro|'or ond hyra sweostor mid, 

hjefdon feorg cwico. Fell hongedon 

sweotol ond gesyne on seles wjege 

anra gehwylces. Ne woes hyra Eengum py wyrs 5 

ne side py sarre, peah hy swa sceoldon 

reafe birofene, rodra weardes 

meahtum avveahte, mupiim slitan 

haswe blede. Hrcegl bi(S geniwad 

pam ))e ier forScymene fraetwe leton 10 

licgan on iSste, gewitan lond tredan. 

15 

Ic wses wSpenwiga. Nu mec wlonc peceS 

geong hagosteaklmon golde ond sylfre, 

woum vvirbogum. Hwilum vveras cyssacS ; 

hwilum ic to hilde hleopre bonne 

wilgehlepan ; hwilum wycg byre]) 5 

mec ofer mearce ; hwilum nierehengest 

9 77/. dol-drunc mennen ; Cii. ' dunc-mennen ? vgl.ahd. tunc' — 12 TJi., Efttn. 
hygegal an bond. — 15 Siev. {PBB. x, 491) j'eowige. 

14 I MS., Edd. except Tr. {BB. xix, 177) x. — 2 AfS., Edd. except Tr. vi. — 
3 Gn. feorgcwico. — 5 Tr. Na;s. — 6 AFS., Th. sarra ; Cos. ne siS }'y sarra. 

15 I R. note conjectures y^TK.^ie.wvix^z.xs.. — 2 .S'tc. monn. J/.S. sylfore; /'.V/w.silfore; 
Kl. note sylofre ? Siev. {PBB. x, 459) sylfre. — 5 Ettiit. wicg. Ettiii., Kl. bire'6'. 



12 KIDDLES OF THK KXKTER BOOK 

ferecS ofer flodas, froetwum beorhtne ; 

hwilum m.TgcSa sum minne gefylleS 

bosm bcaghroden ; hwilum ic [<v/] bordum sceal, 

heard heafodleas, behlyj'ed licgan ; lo 

hwihini hongigc, hvistuni fnvtwod, 

wHtig on wage j'Sr weras drincatN ; 

freohc fyrdsceorp hwUum folcwigan 

wicge wegacS, j'onne ic winde sceal 

sincfag swclgan of sumes bosme ; 15 

hwilum ic gereordum rincas laJSige 

wlonce to wine ; hwilum wia|)um sceal 

stefne minre forstolen hreddan, 

llynuin fcoiidsceaJ>an. Frige hw;vt ic hatte. 

16 

[Hals is nun hwit, end hcafod fcalo, [104*^] 

suian swa some ; swift ic com on fe)>e, 

bcadowSpen bcre; mc on Ixvcc staiulaiN 

her swvlce swe on hlcorum ; hlifiatS tii 

earan ofer eaguni ; ordum ic steppe 5 

in grene gra^s. Mc bi^ gvrn witod, 

gif nice onhivlc an onlindccS, 

wa^lgrim wiga, ]>ier ic wic Inige, 

bold mid bearnum, ond ic bide \>sBr 

mid geoguiScndsle hwonne ga^st cume 10 

A/S., EJd. ic bordum. — 10 F.ttm. behli^'ed; Gn. note behlywed ? Spr. i, S7, 
behlel>ed ? — 14 (7//. ^vecga'^" {Gn.- muri-s </.«■ mis/'rint); A'i. wecgaN. — 16 (7//., .Srf. 
ic [to] ? — 17 MS., Til., K., Kl'- wraMnim. — 19 The sii;ii after hatte scents to me 
no rune as 1 1', loujeetures, but part of a closiui^sigu. 

16 z Th., Eitm., Gn., gh-e incorrectly MS. reading swist. Ettm. in. — 4 MS., 
Th. her swylce sweon | leorum ; Th. note h;vr swvlce swyne ; Ettm. haer swylce 
swine; Gn., //'. her swvlce sue: ('.v. her swylce suge ; Ilolth. (AV*. ix, 357) 'her 
swylce sw[in]e, on hleoruni tu;, also mit streichung Ton hlifiaS'; McL. her swylce 
swe on hleoruni ; hlitia^ tu . Th., Ettm., K. also close line loith tu ; Gn., \V. 'with 
hlitiaS. — 6 ^fS., Th. grenne. — 7 Ettm. unhale. — u MS. blod. 



i<ii)imj:s of the exeter book 



13 



to durum minum ; him l)i|' dca?) witod. 

ForJ'on ic sccal of GcSle caforan mine 

forhtmod fergan, fleame ncigan, 

gif he mc aiftervveani ealles \veor|)e(S ; 

hine breost beraS. Ic his bidan ne dear 15 

rel'es on geruman (nele |»3et r^ed teale), 

ac ic sceal fromlice fe|'emundum 

]nirh steapne beorg strSte wyrcan. 

Eape ic maeg freora feorh genergan, 

gif ic msegburge mot mine gelSdan 20 

on dcgohie weg Jmrh dune J'yrel 

swjese ond gesibbe ; ic me si|)|)an ne j'earf 

wselhwelpes wig wiht onsittan. 

Gif se ni6scea))a nearwe stige 

me on swaj^e sece)>, ne tos£Ele}> him 25 

on ))am gegnpa)>e gu|)gem6tes, 

sijjpan ic |)urh hylles hrof gereece, 

ond jmrh hest hrino hildepilum 

la^gewinnum pam ))e ic longe ficah. 

17 

Oft ic sceal w\]) wsege winnan ond wip winde feohtan, 

somod wi?5 pam srecce, |»onne ic secan gewite 

eorjian y))um peaht ; mc bifi se ej'el f remde. 

Ic beom strong \yxs gejwinnes, gif ic stille \veor)»e ; [105*] 

gif me ]>xs tosaeleS, hi beoS swipran |>onne ic, 5 

ond mec sHtende sona flymaS, 

willaS oSfcrgan J'set ic frij'ian sceal. 

15 MS., Edd. hine bera'S breost. Th. note hi ne be re's ? Herzf. (p. 68) on 
metrical grounds breost bera'S; Cos. "■ entiveder hine breost beraS — oder etwas 
anderes ; keinesfalls was der text bietet.' — 16 Ettm. teala. — 21 MS., Th. dum ; 
Th. note, Ettm. dim ; Gollaticz {AhL.) duml). — 24 MS., Gn. gifre ; Th. and other 
Edd. gif se. — 27 Ettm. hilles. — 28 Ettm. haest. Th., Ettm. hrine. MS., Th. 
hilde pilum. 



14 rtddtj:s of tue kxktkr book 

Ic him \kv{ fotslomle, gif mm steort I'olaiS 

oiul mcc- sti|>ne wip stunas moton 

faiste gehabban. Kiige hvviet ic hatte. lO 

i8 

Ic. com mun(lbt)ia mime hcoidc, 

codcir wirum (;vst, iniian get'vllcd. 

(hyhtgcstrC'ona. Djegtiilum oft 

siKvte sperebrogan ; sped bi|' py mare 

fylle minre. Frea |i;vt l>ihealde(S, 5 

hu me of hrife fleogaiS hyUlepilas. 

llwiluin ic sweaitum swelgan onginne 

bninum beadowSpnum, bitrum oahim, 

cglum attorspenmi. Is min innaiS til, 

\vomblu)rd wlitig, wloncum deore ; 10 

men gemunan l>a:t me |>iiih mu)> fareJS. 

19 

Ic com wundeiluu wiht : ne ma^g word si)recan, 
ma'ldan for monnum, |'eah ic mii|) lia-bbe, 

wide \voml)e 

Ic \v;vs on ceole ond mines cnosles ma. 

20 

Ic seah [somod] l/| R P' 
N li\ gewloncne lieafodbeorhtne 

17 10 T/i's readiiii;- 0/ MS., u'li. h;vtte ; .IAS"., 7'//. hatte. 

18 07U-r the ridillc stands in tlie MS. titc B-rune, <///</ crvv the B, Me L-rune. — 
I Tr. (/>/)'. xix, iSo) niinva. — 2 MS. (7".), 77/., Tr. eodor wirum; (7//., //'. eodor- 
wiriim. — 5 MS.y I'h. fveo. — 6 MS., 'I'll, hylde pylas. — S Gn. beaduwa^pnum. 
— II Cos. fi^r metrical reasons [oft] or [Iwt] after men; ZV. gewilnia^ instead of 
gemunan. 

19 3 Xo };ap in MS. after wonihe. — .( After ma, usual si^n of elosing :-:7; 
T/i.y (in. sni;[!^est a lacuna. 

20 1 The addition is Grein's ; I/iehetier {.In^'lia x, 592) Somod ic seah. Jlolth. 
{/>/•. i.\, 357) ond />et:oeen runes R and 0. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 15 

swiftne ofer sjelwong swij'e prSgan ; 

hajfde him on hrycge hilde|'ry|'e, 

+ F^ M, nsegledne rad 5 

r X n l> ; widlast ferede 

rynestrong on rade rofne K ^ 

Y (F^) K N; for wtES I'y beorhtre, 

swylcra sijjfaet. Saga hwaet ic hatte. 

21 

Ic eom wunderlicu wiht, on gewin sceapen, 

frean minum|lcof, fagre gegyrwed : [105^^] 

byrne is min bleofag, swylce beorht seomaJS 

vvir ymb ))one wa;lgim |)e me waldend geaf, 

se me widgalum wisaJS hwilum 5 

sylfum to sace. ]7onne ic sine wege 

})urh hlutterne dsg, hondvveorc smi])a, 

gold ofer geardas. Oft ic gastberend 



3 MS. swistne {not swisne, 6'w.). Ettm. ))r?cgjan. — 4 MS., Th. 'hilde hry^e 
(" bold in war"): — 5, (>MS., Th., Gn., IV. rad AG E W. Th. note, Ettm., Dietr. (xi, 
465) rad — N. G. E. W; Cit. note suggests 

N. O. M. njcgledne R. A. G. 
[wod R] £• W. widlast ferede. 

Ilicketier {Anglia x, 592) rand/or rad ; WO E\> ( N G E t>) Jor AG E W. 7>. {Bb. v, 48) 

N, O. [ondj M. Nsegledne gar 
W. 0. E. [.. widlast ferede. 

Cos. {TBB. xxiii, 129) rad (R), A. G = gar; E (eli), W (wynn) should be changed 
to W. E. (wynneh), ' 7i<eil daniit das ross hezeithnet ivird, der widlast ferede.' Jlolth. 
{Bb. ix, 357) W. E. = Wynne. Ettm. note iiydlast ? — 7-8 Th., Sie7\ {.-inglia xiii, 
17), I/olth. I.e. COFAH. — 8 I/olth. F. A [ond] H. — 8 No gap in MS. : 'Jh. note 
'■Here a line is wanting'' ; Ettm. indicates a gap before for. Gn. beorhtra. — 9 Gn. 
note hwa;t hio ? Ettm. hate. 

21 2 Gn. fasgere. — 3 MS., Th. seomad. — 4 Th. note 'were or wirum ? wael- 
grimman ? or is wrel-gim a periphrasis for byrne.'' — 6 Edd., citing MS. in- 
correctly, read rice ; Gn. note sige ? Spr. ii, 446 sige ; MS. reads plainly sace ; 
so B. M. 



l6 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

cwelle compwEepnum. Cyning mec gyrweS 

since ond seolfre ond mec on sele \veor))a6 ; lo 

ne wyrneS word lofes, wisan maenecS 

mine for mengo, |'£er hy meodu drincafi ; 

healdeft mec on hea))ore, hwilum l^eteS eft 

radwerigne on gerum sceacan, 

orlegfromne. Oft ic oprum scod 15 

frecne ?et his freonde ; fall eom ic wide, 

wffipniim awyrged. Ic me wenan ne J'earf 

faet me beam wrgece on bonan feore, 

gif me gromra hwylc gii|'e genzegeS ; 

ne weorJ'eS sio msegburg gemicledu 20 

eaforan minmn ))e ic cefter w5c, 

nymj'e ic hlafordleas hweorfan mote 

from )>am healdende )'e me hringas geaf : 

me biS forS witod, gif ic frean hyre, 

gul^e fremme, swa ic gien dyde, 25 

minum l»eodne on j'onc, ])?et ic )>olian sceal 

bearngestreona ; ic wi]' bryde ne mot 

hjemed habban, ac me |)ces hyhtplegan 

geno N\yrneS se mec geara on 

bende legde ; forjion ic briican sceal 30 

on hagostealde hgele)>a gestreona. 

Oft ic wirum dol wife abelge, 

wonie hyre willan ; heo me wom sprece'8, 

floceS hyre folmum, firena)' mec wordum, 

ungod gaeleS ; ic ne gyme ]^xs compes 35 



10 77/. feolfre {mjsprtfi/). — 13 7Vt., Gii. me. — 14 Git. .sceacen {misprint). — 
17 Gil. note awyrded .'' — 19 Gn. note gehnaege'JS ? — 29 MS., T/i., Gn., W. gearo ; 
Siev. {PBB. X, 519) gearwe ; Herzf. (p. 44) geara. — 35 77/. note '■Here a leaf of 
the MS. is evidently tvanting'' ; W. ^ in der HS. ist nichts vmlirztinelnnen.^ There 
is no closing sign in the MS. Holth. (Bb. ix, 357) for tnetrical reasons assigns 
compes to line 36. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 17 

22 

Neb is mill nijierweard, neol ic fere [106*] 

ond be grunde grcefe, geonge swa me wisa?) 

har holtes feond, ond hlaford min 

[se] woh faereti weard aet steorte, 

wrigaj' on wonge, wegeS mec ond )'yS, 5 

sawejj on swaeS min. Ic sny)?ige for6 

brungen of bearwe, bunden craefte, 

wegen on waegne, hcebbe wundra fela ; 

me bi)' gongendre grene on healfe 

ond min swccS sweotol sweart on d]ne. 10 

Me )mrh hrycg wrecen hongaj' under 

an or))oncpil, 6j)er on heafde 

faest ond forSweard fealle|» on sidan, 

))0et ic tojmm tere, gif me teala |)enaS 

hindeweardre paet bip hlaford min. 15 

23 

^tsomne cwom sixtig monna 

to \v£egstje|'e wicgum ridan ; 

haefdon endleofon eoredmsecgas 

f7i'dhe7igestas, feower sceamas. 

Ne meahton magorincas ofer mere feolan, 5 

swa hi fundedon, ac wses flod to deop, 

atol yl'a ge))r3ec, ofras hea, 

22 2 Th. fitfte geong? — 3 77/. har-holtes. — 4 Sie7/. {FBB. x, 519) [on]; Bright 
[se]. — 5 Siev. {FBB. x, 477) resoh'es byS; Cos.(PBB. xxiii, 129) by[h]e'S. — 6 TA. 
note snyrige ? — 7 MS. bearme ; Th. beame. — 15 Tli. note ' se ^e/or J^aet ? ' 

23 I MS. .^Tsomne ; T/i. Etsomne ; 77/. note ' r. ^tsomne'; Ettm. ^Et somne. 
Th. note, Ettm. cwomon. MS., Edd. except Ettm. LX. — 2 Ettm. waegsta'Se. — 
3 MS., Edd. e.xcept Ettfn. XI. Ettm. eoredmecgas. — 4 MS. fridhengestas ; T/i. 
note fyrdhengestas ? Ettm. fridhengestas; Dietr. (xii, 251) 'fri'S, adj. {stattlich, 
schon ; vgl. 10^)'; Gn. 'fridhengestas {7'gl. alid. parafrit)'; Spr. i, 349, Gn!^ frid- 
hengestas. MS., Edd. except Ettm. nil. — 5 77/. note feran.? — 7 Siev. {PBB. x, 
478) resolves hea; Holth. {Bb. i.v, 357) hea[e]. 



iS KiDDii'.s OK •nil'. i':xi:ri:R ijook 

sticainas strongc. Oiignnnon stigan |>a 

on \v;vgn woras oiul hyia wirg sonuul 

hliulan untlor hrungo ; |>a |>a hois 0(Sl);v;r lO 

I'll ond cntrlas .vscuin dcallc 

ot'cr wa'tii's l>yht \v;v^n to lando, 

swa hiiK- o\a nc Uah ir- osla ina-gen 

nv I'a'thongost, nc on llodi' swoni, 

nc be grundc wod gostuin under, 15 

ne lagu drei'do, ne on lyfte Heag, 

ne tuuk'i l)a'c' ( yrde ; brohte li\va'|>re 

beornas ofcv lunnan oiul hvia liloncaii mid 

from staNNe heauni, |'a't hv stopan np 

on o|>erne, | ellenrofe, [106^'] 20 

weras of waige ontl hyra wicg gesmul. 

24 

Agof is mm noma eft onhwvrfed. 

li.- eom \vr;vtlu' w ilU on gi'win sceapen. 

I'^onne ic onbuge ond me of bosme fareJS 

iVtren tMiga, ic lieom eallgeart), 

I'a-t ic me jM't feorhbealo (cor aswape. 5 

Si|'|>an mc se waldend, sc me |';vt wite geseop, 

let>|H> forla-teiS, ic beo lengre |>onne xv, 

t»|>|nvt ic spa-te, spilde geblonden, 

ealfelo attor |'a-t ic a'r[orJ geap. 

Ne ti>gonge^ |nvs gumena liwvlcum 10 

10 F.ttm. hlodiiii. — 11 Th. note- eohas ? — i ^ MS., 7'//., (7//., //'. esna ; (7//. note 
tsla ? S/')-. i, 2;:S esla or esola. 77/., Ettin., C,n. nuvgn. — 14 MS., 7'//., Gti., //'. 
fat hengest ; Ettm. fiet ; note fSted ? f;vt ? Spy. i, 274 f;vthengest. — \b I'.ttm. 
(Ivafde. .1/^., 77/. of ; Th. note on ? — 1 7 MS. oiuler. Ettm. cirde. — iS Ettm. liira. 
— U) Ettm., Gn. hi stopon. 

24 4 .MS. (T.) ;vt lenonga ; 77/. ant 1 en onga. (///. eom. .MS. {/'.), Th., Gn. 
eall geaio ; Gn- eallgearo. — 7 Ilerzf. (p. 6j) eom for beo. Cos. lengra. — S Gn. 
o;N |..vt. — I) MS., 111. eal felo. MS., EJd. xx\ Sier. {PEE. x, 519), Cos. xxox. — 
10 77/. to gongeN. 



Ki i)i)i.i;s oi' 11 1 1'. i;\i;ii;i< I'.ook 



19 



JGniguni ca|)e |';cl ic pair yiiib siJiice, 

gif hinc hniK'(S |);t't mc of hrifc llcogccS, 

|>;ot I'oiie iiKindiinc lux'gne geccapaj) 

fuUwcr f;v)slc fcorc sine. 

Nellc ic unbunden ainigiini hyran 15 

nyni|>e scaiosajlcd. Saga li\v;ct ic hatte. 

25 

Ic eom wtinderlicu wihl, wrajsiic mine stefne : 

hwiliiin l)eorce swa hund, Iiw iliiin hliete swa gat, 

hwiluin grcede swa gos, hwilinn gielle swa hafoc ; 

hwilnm ic onhyrge |>()ne haswan earn, 

giiJSfngles hleo|K)r ; hwiluni glidan reorde 5 

niii|)c gcmajiu', luviliini mrGwes song, 

I'air ic glado .sitte. X nice nemnaS, 

swylce K ond f^, p^ fnllestcJS 

[ond] N ond |. Nii ic halen eom 

swa |)a siex stafas sweotule bccna|». 10 

26 

Ic eom wunderlicu wiiit, wifum on hyhte, 

ncaliliiiiiibiin nyt ; naingum sce|'|'e 

burgsittendra nym|)e bonan amini. 

Sta|)ol mln is stca])heah, slonde ic on Ijcdde, 

neo|»an ruh nathwair. Nel>e(S hwilnm 5 

ful cyrtenu | ceorles dohtor, [107-'] 

modwlonc mcowle, |>a't hco on nice grii)e(S, 

ir Th. 's])iite (.>////).'— i,| M.S., Jul<l. full wcr; '///. iiol,- fiilliwer? Jlrii^lit 
sui:;i^csls fullwcT (^ iiUHpUlc wer'). 

25 I ///. II, 'tc wrixlc ? for wr.x'sne. — 2 J/ollli. {/■'.. .S. xxxvii, 207) swa liuiul 
beorce or belle swa l)earg or beorce swa bicce. — 9 Cos. ' [oiul] n/ />r<;iiiiiitti; or 
cud of lialf-liiic' ; I/ollli. H. I [samod]. 

26 2 MS., J'ldd. neahl)uendum ; SieiJ. {^P/Ui. x, 4S0), A/ad. (p. 63) neahbiindiim. 
— 4 A/S., 7'/i., G)i., IF. steaj) heah ; Holth. 'slea])heaii (cf. Gen. 2839, healisteap)'; 

/>'. (/>'/)'. xix, iSj) oiiiils heah. — 5 Tr. iiat hwxr. 



20 KIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

r£ese<S mec on reodne, reafa?) min heafod, 

fegetS mec on fasten ; fele)' sona 

mines gemotes see pe mec nearwat), lo 

wif wundenlocc : w£et bicS ))aet eage. 

27 

Mec feonda sum feore besnyl'ede, 

woruldstrenga binom ; wStte si))))an, 

dyfde on wa^tre ; dyde eft J'onan, 

sette on sminan, |'Sr ic swij'e beleas 

herum j'am )'e ic hrefde. Heard mec sij'pan 5 

snaS seaxes ecg, sindrum begrunden ; 

fingras feoldan, ond mec fugles wyn 

geond[sprengde] speddropum, spyrede geneahhe 

ofer brunne brerd, beamtelge swealg 

streames dffile, stop eft on mec, 10 

si))ade sweartlast. Mec sij'j'an wrah 

h?eleS hleobordum, hyde bej'enede, 

gierede mec mid golde ; forpon me gliwedon 

wrffitlic weorc smipa, wire befongen. 

Nil J'a gereno ond se reada telg 15 

ond ))a wuldorgesteald wide mSre 

dryhtfolca helm, nales dolwite. 

Gif min beam wera brucan willaJS, 

hy beo6 )'y gesundran ond |'y sigef^stran, 

8 Gu. note rsereS? Gn. note 'reoiNne {zur KiitteluugY \ Tr. rxreiN mec reodne ? 
Bright suggests hreode (^ reed, stalk'). — 10 MS., T/i. se ; 77/. note seo ? 

27 I Ettm. besniiSede. — 3 Ettin. dide. — 5 Ettm., Stu. haerum. /^., S-t: )'a l>e. 
— 6 A/S., M. seaxses. MS., M., T/i., Ettm. ecge. Ettm. note syndrum ? — 7 T/i. 
note foldan ? Ettm., Gn. feoldon. Ettm., Gn. me. T/i. note fule swyn ; Ettm. cyn ; 
Sw. wynn. — 8 Gn., S7V. add [sprengde] ; Ilolth. {/. F. iv, 386) [spaw]. — 9 Th. note 
beamtelga? — 12 M. heo-bordum. MS., M., Th., Ettm. hy^e ; Gn., W. hyde. — 
13 Gn. note forS on me ? — 14 S7v. wracttlic. — 15 A', hy^a/cr Nu t>a. — 16 Ettm., 
Gn. add beo^ before mvext ; Gn. (S/>r. ii, 22^) fo!l(ru>s MS. ; S'w. masren. — 17 Gn. 
note help? Th., Ettm., R., Sw. dol wite. — 19 Ettm., Gn. hi. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 21 

heortum ))y hwaetran ond ]'y hygeblij)ran, 20 

fer]5e ]>y frodran, habba)> freonda ]>y ma, 

swsEsra ond gesibbra, soj'ra ond godra, 

tilra ond getreowra, |)a hyra tyr ond ead 

estum yca8 ond hy arstafum 

lissum bilecgacS ond hi lufan fepmum 25 

faeste clyppaS. Frige hwcet ic hatte, 

nijmm to nytte : nama min is msere, 

jhselejmm gifre ond halig sylf. [107*^] 

28 

Ic eom weorfi werum, wide funden, 

brungen of bearwum ond of burghleojnim, 

of deniim ond of dunum. Dseges mec wgegun 

fepre on lifte, feredon mid liste 

under hrofes hleo. Haele8 mec si]>)'an 5 

bafedan in bydene. Nu ic eom bindere 

ond swingere, s5na weorpe 

esne to eorpan, hwilum ealdne ceorl ; 

sona ])3et onfindeS se ]>e mec fehft ongean, 

ond wi(5 ni?egen|)isan minre genaesteS 10 

})aet he hrycge sceal hriisan secan, 

gif he unr^des aer ne gesvvice'8, 

strengo bistolen, strong on spraece, 

nijegene binumen, nah his modes geweald, 

fota ne folma. Frige hwait ic hatte, 15 

■Se on eorpan swa esnas binde, 

dole sefter dyntum, be daeges leohte. 

24 Ett7n., Gil. hi. — 28 Ettm. gifraege ; R. gifrege ; .Sti'. gefrjege. Ettm. silf. 

28 2 MS.y T/i., Gn., W. burghleo)5Uin ; T/i. note beorghleolnim ? Ettm. beorg- 
hleobum. — 3 Ettm., Gn. me. — 4 Ettm. fe'Sru. Ettm., Gn. lyfte. Gn. note lisse ? — 
7-8 MS., Edd. weorpere | efne ; Holth.{E. S. xxxvii, 207) as in te^t. — 10 Ettm. 
mjegenjjysan ; Holth. I.e. masgenHssan. Tit. note genaege'S; Ettm. gehnasste'S. — 
13 Gn!^, IV. strongan. — 14 Ettm. msgne. — 16-17 ^'''- ' 7>i^j-^ lines are in the 



22 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

29 

Bi|) foUhm (lail faegre gegierwed 

mid |iy heardestan ond mid )>y scearpestan 

ond mid )'y grymmestan gumena gestreona, 

corf en, sworfen, cyrred, pyrred, 

bunden, wunden, blJEced, wSced, 5 

fi;vt\vcd, geatwed, feoiran lajded 

to durum diyhta, dream bicN in innan 

cwirra wihta, clenge?i, lengeJS, 

])ara l>e Sr lifgende longe hwile 

wilna briireiS oiul no \vi(S s])ri(e(S ; 10 

ond I'onne a-fter dea|ie dcman onginneJS, 

meldan misbce. Micel is to hycganne 

wisfnsstum menu hwa^t seo wiht sy. 

30 

Ic wiht geseah wundorlice 

hornum bitvveonum hu|'e Uvdan, 

|lyftf;vt Icohtlic bstum gegierwed, [loS-''] 

hupe to ]'am ham[e] of |'am heresi])e : 

walde byre on j'cvre byrig l)ur atimbran, 5 

searwum asettan, gif hit swa meahte. 

Da c\\\)m wundorhru wiht ofer wealles hrof 

(seo is eaUum cutS eorc^Sbuendum), 

ahrcdde |';i I'a hril>e, ond to ham bedraf 

JlfS. detached from the preceditti:; part, l>e^i;i>i 'with a capital, and appear altogether as 
a separate riddle.^ ]V. *■ nach hatte steht als schlusszeichen :-, daun folgt an/ der- 
selben zeile De.' 

29 2 Ettm. hwa^ssestan for scearpestan ; Gn. [heoru] scearpestan. — 3 Kttiu., 
Git. giimmestan. — 8 77/. note glengeJi? — 12 Siex. (/V>/>. x, 4S2) hycgan. — 
13 F.ttm. si; Git. seo; Siev. {PBB. x, 477) sy resolved. 

30 2 JAS"., Th. horna abitweonu ; Tit. note hornum bitweonum ? Dietr. (xi, 46S) 
hornaa (= horna); K. hornan. — 4 MS., Edd. except Tr. (/>'/>'. xix, iSo) ham. — 
5 MS., Tr. walde; Th., Ettm., Gn., A\, IV. wolde. Ettm. hire. Jderzf. (p. 50) 
burge /"('/■ byrig } Holth. (E. S. xxxvii, 20S) on byrg |>a>re or walde after byrg. 
MS. atimbram. — 7 Ettm. wunderlicu. — 9 MS., Th., /*. bedra;f. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 23 

wreccan ofer willan ; gewat hyre west j'onan 10 

fjehl'um feran, forS onette ; 

diist stone to heofomim, deaw feol on eorpan, 

niht forS gewat : nSnig si|)|)an 

wera gewiste J'Jere wihte si8. 

31 

Ic eom legbysig, lace mid winde 

bewunden mid wuldre, wedre gesomnad, 

fus forSweges, fyre gebysgad, 

beam blovvende, byrnende glEd. 

Ful oft mec gesipas sendaS refter hondum 5 

faet mec weras end wif wlonce cyssa8. 

JJonne ic mec onhaebbe, hi onhniga|' to me, 

monige mid miltse, ])£er ic monnum sceal 

yean upcyme eadignesse. 

32 

Is })es middangeard missenllcum 
wisum gewlitegad, wrattum gefr?etwad. 
Ic seah selllc J)ing singan on raecede ; 
wiht wees no [hwae))re] werum on gemonge 

10 Eitm. hire.— 11 MS., Th., Tr. onette'S. — 12 Sv. feoll. 

31 This riddle appears in hvo different forms in the Exeter Book (108 «, 122 F). 
The second of these is defective on account of injury to the MS. Gn., IV., BL, and Tr. 
distitiguish these versions as a and b ; the first tivo maki)tg a, the third and futrth 
b, the basis of text. 

I a leg bysig; /' lig bysig {not lie bysig, Th., Gn., 7;-.) ; Gn., BL, Tr. lic-bysig ; 
W. lie bysig. — 2 b After winde some ij letters are missing before -die (wedre), the 
first being w ( W!) ; W. suggests wunden mit wuldre we-, Tr. wuldre bewunden we-, 
B. M. reads the loiver part of -ww. — 3 3 gemyltedyt»r gebysgad. — \ b Instead of 
bearu a gap of five letters ( IV.) ; B. M. reads plainly bear. — 6 b )>a;r. /' gecyssaS. 
— "] a Th. ond hi; b hi. a onhiiigah; b onhniga)'. — 8 /> modge miltsum swa ic 
mongum seeal. 

32 2 Ettm. wraetwum. — 4 Ettm. sio wiht. MS. on werum on ; Th., Ettt):. omit 
first on ; Gn., IV. no ; Herzf (p. 68) no[wer] ; Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 1 29) ' no [hwze'Sre] 
{cf line 8).' 



24 KIDDLKS OF TH K i:Xi;rKR 1U)()K 

sio h;vl(le \v;vstuni wundorlicran. 5 

Ni|)er\veaiil [<(7 iiy/h''\ w.ts neh hyre, 

fet ond folme fugele gel ire ; 

no h\va;|>re fleognn ma\g lie fela gongan, 

li\v:e|>ie fi'I'egeorn freniman DiiginneiS, 

gecoren cnvftuin eviie(S geneahhe ; 10 

oft ond gelonie etMluin on genionge 

sitecS ;vl syinl)le. sa-les l)ule|i, 

liwoiine aM-jheo cxxh h\re (•\|>an mole [loS''] 

weruin on woiige. Ne hco pa'v uilit I'igeiS 

jws I'e liiiii ai lilissc beornas habbaiS. 15 

T")eor domes geoiii, hio duml* wnnaiS ; 

h\va"l>re In re is on fole ta'ger lilei)|'or, 

wvnlieu wot'Sgielu : wia'tlie me pineeiS 

hu seo wiht nKvge woidum laean 

]>uih fot neo|'an. I''i:x?t\ved hyistum 20 

hafat^ hvre on halse, j'onne hio hord waraM, 

ba'i , beaguin deall, l)ro|'or sine, 

ina'g mid ma'gne. Micid is to Incgenne 

wisum \vo(Sboian hwa't [ sio] wiht sie. 

33 

Is |)es middangeaid iiiissenlienm 
wisnm gewUtegad, wrivltum gefi;vt\vad. 
Sij'um selhc ie seah seaio hweoilan, 

5 I'ttin. omits sio, aiiii luids o^nini after w;vstuni ; 77/. note ' r. w.TStem.' Th. note 
wmulorlicne ? — 6 MS. niherwear'N ; after this Iferzf (p. 6S) inserts onhwyrfed or 
gongende ; //o/t/i. {/. J\ iv, 387) geneahhe (V geiiyded. /■' tt in. suggests after \\\\& 
(hyre), neat his tela. — 7 I'.ttin. fohiui. — S I'.tlin.. (in. ne ma:g ne. — 9 6"//. fe'Se 
geoin. -^ ij J'.ltiii. sinil>le. — 13 TJi. note ' av is affarently an error of the scribe.^ 
— 14 Th. note on geinonge ? — 15 MS. habbad. — 17 Ettin. hyre. — iS Etttn. 
hynce'S. — 21 Dietr. (xi, 461)) ' hordwara'^ (^Scliatzhesitzer).^ — 22 77/., Ettnt. ' bajr- 
beagum (tiv/// bearing-rings').^ Ettm. sinne. — 23 /'//. note mccgNe or ma-gdne ? 
Ettm. hyirganne; Siev. (y7>V>. x, 482) liycgan. — 24 Th. inserts [sio] ; Sier. {/VUt. 
X, 477) reso/T'es sie. 

33 I ("(';/. Nis. — 2 /-.V/w. gewhiegod. cV//. wra'tuni ; W. ' the seeoni/ t /n wrxt- 
tuni /.I abo:e the line in another hanJ.^ 



RiDDi.i'-.s oi'- 'iiii'; I'l.xi'rri'iR liooK 25 

griiidaii \vi(S gicote, giellcndc faran ; 

na^fde scIIk u wiht syne nc folme, 5 

exle nc eaimas ; sceal on anum fct 

searoceap swifan, swi))e fcran, 

faran ofer (eUlas ; haifdc fcla rihha ; 

niU(S \v;\;s on niiddan, moncynnc nyt ; 

fere foddurwelan folcscipe drcogecS, 10 

wist in wigeJS, ond werum gieldc(S 

gaful geara gehwani \)xh j'e guman brucaS, 

rice ond heane. Rcce, gif \>\\ cuiine, 

wis, worda glcaw, hwnet sio wiht sie. 

34 

Wiht cwom sefter wcge wraethcu ]i|>an, 

cymHc from cede • cleopodc to londe, 

hlinsade hhldc ; hieahtor woes gryreUc, 

egesful on eanlc, ccge wSron scearpe. 

[Wfies hio hetegrim, hilde to sajne, [109"] 5 

biter beadovveorca ; bordweallas griif 

heard ond'hi))ende. Hetenine bond, 

ssegde searocr:T;ftig ymb hyre sylfre gesceaft : 

" Is min modor ma^giSa cynnes 

))3es dcorestan, |':x;t is dohtor nun lo 

cacen lip bden, swa |'a;t is ifcl(bmi c ii|>, 

4 Con. greoto. P'.llni. gellende. — 6 /■'./tin. eaxle. — S M.S. fella. — lo T/i. note 
faere ? Gn. note iela.. CV//. ,/','/////. foddarwelan ; (^/'«. foddorwelan. T/i.note drxg^} 
— II T/i. note wegcS ? 77i., J-'.llin., (Jn. imvigeiN; (in.-, 1 1', in wige'S. — 12 Co/i. 
l)enea'Syj7r bruca^. — 13 Con. conne. — 14 S/'ev. (/'/)'/>. x, 477) rcwoh'c? sie. 

34 I A/S., Th. wege ; Th. note wcege ? Gn., W. wSge. — 3 M.S. leahtor. — 
4 Kttm. ecga. — 5 MS., I/erzf. (p. 6.S), hlacbcr (J/. P. ii, 145) hio; Th., Klim., 
Gn., W. his ; Ettm. note hire ? MS., Th., Gn., IV. hete grim ; J-Ulm., Ilcrzf., A'laeb. 
hetegrim (Am/. 1395, 1562). 7'//. note to seonne ? I/erzf. to sa;ge ; Klaeb. 'on 
wene (cf. on wenum)'; Iloltli. (/''... S. xxxvii, 208) 'to cene {jtordh.cxne).' — 7 Sign 
</ Olid ;/('/ /// .MS.; Juid. supply litis. /■'Jl/n. hyKnde. Cos. (/'/>/>. xxiii, 129), 
A'laeb. onband (,/. h',:o7ii. 501). — S /'.lint, silfre. — 9 .MS. majgda. — 10 Ettm. J^aes 
for ))a;t. — 1 1 JAS'. ( 7'.), 7//., /'.Ihu. upliden. /'.Ilm. eldum. 



26 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

firum on folce, yxt seo on foklan sceal 
on ealra londa gehwam lissum stondan." 

35 
Ic wiht geseah in v.era burgum 
seo j'cXt feoh fedeS ; hafafi fela toj'a ; 
nebb bil> hyre xt nytte, nij'erweard gongeS, 
hipecS holdlice ond to ham tyh(S, 

\v£eJ>e(S geond weallas, wyrte sece'8 ; 5 

aa heo ))a findeiS ))a J)e fcst ne bip; 
IJeteR hio pa wlitigan, wyrtum feste, 
stille stondan on stapolwonge, 
beorhte blican, blowan ond growan. 

36 

Mec se waita wong, wundrum freorig, 

of his innaj'c Srist cende. 

Ne wilt ic mec beworhtne wulle flysum, 

hcErum jnirh heahcraeft hygej'oncum min. 

\\'iindene me ne beoiS wefle, ne ic wearp hafu, 5 

ne I'urh ]>reata gej»ra;cu )'r^d me ne hlimmeS, 

ne xt me hiTitende hrisil scrij'eJS, 

ne mec 5h\vonan sceal am cnyssan. 

Wyrmas mec ne aw^fan wyrda cra^ftum 

]'a )'e geolo godwebb geatwum frcet\va'6. 10 

Wile mec mon h\vai)>re se )>eah wide ofer eorpan 

hatan for hslepum hyhtlTc gewiede. 

Saga soScwidum, searol'oncum gleaw, 

wordum wisjfa^st, hwa^t )'is gewcede sy. [109^] 

35 3 (Jfi. neb. — 4 .S"/V-'. (/'/>/>'. x, 476) trsohrs tyli^i; G's. {PBB. xxiii, 129) 
tyheS. — 6 Gn. a. 

36 5 Ettm. wefla. — S MS., Gii.-, //'. sceal amas cnyssan ; 77/. note, RUm., (!n. 
uma; Dieir. ama; ITolth. {£.S. xxxvii, 20S) am sceal cnyssan {Lett/. 8). — 9 Ettm. 
awxfon. — II Gn. mon mec. Herzf. (p. 69) omits se J'eah. — 14 ]\IS., Th., Kl. 
gewaedu ; R. gewaeda. Ettm. si. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 2/ 

Leiden Riddle 

Mec se uOta uong, uundrum freorig, 

ob his innacSre arest ca2nd[ae]. 

Ni uuat ic mec biuorthae uullan fliusum, 

herum fteih hehciaaft higido[n]cum [mm], 

Uundn?e mO ni bla'S ueflse, nl ic uarp hefa;, 5 

nl 'Serih '6rea[t]un giiSroec (5ret me hlimmith, 

ne me hrutendi hrisil scelfseS, 

ni mec 6ii[ua]n[a] aam sceal cnyssa. 

Uyrmas mec ni auefun uyrdi crseftum 

^a ^i goelu godueb geatum fraetuath. 10 

Uil mec hudrne sua 'Seh uidse of?er eor'Su 

hatan mith h^li(Sum hyhtllc giuade. 

Ni ancegu na ic me ^erigfseraj egsan brogum, 

(Seh (Si ni[ma-Mi flanas frac]adlic3e ob cocrum. 

Leide7i Kiddie {MS. J'oss. Q. 106, fo. 24 b, /;/ Uni-dcrsity Library of Leiden in 
Contijiental hand of ninth century). This was printed very inaccurately by Beth- 
fnanfi, Haitpts Zeitschrift v (1845), 199. Dietrich {D.) published facsimile, trans- 
literation, and critical text in the Marburg program, Cummentatio de Kynewulfi. 
poetae aetate, iSjg-iS6o. I/is text was reprinted in Rieger''s Alt- jitid angelsdch- 
sisches Lesebuch, Giessen, 1861 (A'.), with critical er?iendations. In j88j, Sweet 
{Sw^ printed in his Oldest English Texts a critical text based upon the MS. and 
also upon '■'■the Leiden librarian'' s careful transcript of the Riddle by help of re- 
agents in iS6f {L.). STceet is folknved closely by A'luge, Angelsdchsisches Lesebuch, 
j8SS, iSgj {Kl), and by Assmann, Grein-Willker's Bibliothck iii, 205 ( '''.). 

I Two letters erased after ueta. — 2 /?., R. h(is). D. a;r[est], R. a;r[ist], Sw., 

KL, W. aerest, Szv. ' may be acrist ? ' — 3 R. biuorhtas. — 4 D., R. b[i]h 

They conjecture bi hiortan minre or bi hyge (/?. hige) minum, L. b[i]gido[cumt], 
Sw. bigido[n]cum [minum], possibly, hygi-, KL, IV. as ?« text. — 6 D., R. '8rea[t]an. 
I)., R. gi5r[a;ce], ^97i'. ' gicNixc, // is impossible to tell whether last letter is followed 
by more letters or not.' I)., A', hlimmid, L. hlimmi(t)d. — 7 Z>. {MS.), R. hrutendi, 
S'u'., A'L, IV. hrutendum. /?., R. scel[f]ffi'5. — 8 £>., R. o[hwanan] or D. o[hwffir] ; 
Sw., A'L, IV. as in text. — 11 D. hu[e]drae. R. ofer. — \2 R. ha^li'Sum. D., R. 
hihtlic. D. giu3e[di] or giu3e[de], L. giu[as]de, S-co. giuasde. — 13 MS., Edd. 
anoegun, B.-T. (p. 750) as in text {see Dan. 697). — 14 additiofis partly by D., 
partly by R. D. reads mf>r ni ; R., S7c'., A'L ni[man]. R. [frac]a'Slice. 



28 RIDDLES UK I'lIK l.X KI'KK HOOK 

37 

Ic wilit gi'soah on wc},'0 fcran, 

SCO w;vs \vijlitli( c wuiidiiim gegierwed : 

ha'idt' Iroweie let uiult'i woinbe 

ond c'htuwts nionii // /> .1/ [/>], 

wiil III .X / /• / ;■, 5 

/hi)!S (/ .\' .V .V, iilon oil hi\(ge ; 

I\;rl(k' til ri|MU oiul twrlf t.Mi;an 

ond sic"\ IkmI'iIu. Saga liwa-t hio \v£ere. 

l''()r llodwc'gas ; lie wa-s |>a't na t'ugul ana, 

ac |';i'i- \v;vs [vghwv'lees aiiia geluiK-s, lO 

horses oiul moniies, liundes oiul fugles, 

ond eac wiles wlite. ]'u wast gil |ni eonst 

to gesecganne, |>a:t we so(S witan 

hii |i;XMe wihte wise gonge. 

38 

le )'a wihte geseah ; womb w\ts on hindan 

|in|>iiin al>innten ; I'egn folgade, 

ma'gcnrola man, ond micel hrcfde 

gefeied, )>;T'r his /r//(' lUali |niiii his eage. 

Ne swvlte(N he svmle, I'onne s\ llaii sceal 5 

iiinatS |)am o|'nim. ae liim eft ( \ ine("S 

hot in b()siiie, hhvd l>i|> aia'red ; 

lie sumi w\ veecN, bi(N him sylfa fa'der. 

37 At t/iKU- of mi'l., C,ii. gh'cs fiusi»ii!i- <'/" 37, a/trr Ilickfx ( T/iesaiiriis, ii, 5), 
huf in /lis i-dition of tiwt In- ,/ot-s not print tlw secret script, n'/iie/i he lOnsiJers as 
' runes.'' 

4 7'//. clitulv; (///.■-, //'. I'htu we (r^ohluii we). M.S., //'. I1 w M; Holth. 
(/■;. .V. xxxvii. JoS) US in te.xt. ~ 5 .I/.V, ///., //'. wilt"; (,';/. wif. MS., />./!/. 
in X 1 k f w; //'. {>nisre<7(/ini;) M x 1 R f w; //oit/i. ,is in te.vt. — i) Gn. note 
foldwegas ? 

38 I T/i., r.ttin., Gn. wiht. — 2 F.ttm., Git. |.iy\Sum. — 4 .MS., lu/J. hit fekle ; 
77/. note fyligde ? Gn. note felde ? Dietr. (xi, .172) his tilled {see, ko^vever, xii, 
238). — 5 Ettm. swilte^■. 



KIDDLKS OF IIIK i:.\i:i'KK HOOK 29 

39 

Ic |i;i wiht gescah \v;T'])iic(l(ynnes ; 

geogU(Sniyr|)e graidig liiin 011 gal'ol forlet 

fer(Sfri|)ende feower wcllan 

scire sccotan, on gcsceap I'cotan. 

Mon mal)cla(le, sc |)e mc gcs.Tgde : 5 

" Sco wiht, gif hio gcdygeJS, duna ])rice(S ; 

gif he tohirstecS, hiiuleJS twice." 

40 

(rewritu secgaJS |)a:t sco wiht sy 

mid monrynne niichim tiihim 

sweotol ond gesyne ; suiidorc raift hafaft 

maran micle ponne hit men witen. 

Heo wile gesecan snndor | aBghwylcne [i ro*] 5 

feorhberendra, gewiteiS eft fC'ian on weg ; 

ne bi(5 hio njefre niht |)£er oj're, 

ac hio sceal wideferh wreccan laste 

hamleas hweorfan, no |)y h(3anre bi|'. 

Ne hafaJS liio fpt nc folm, nc £efre foldan hran, 10 

ne eagena [hafaiS] fGgJ'er twcga, 

ne mii8 hafa|), uv \\'\]> monnum sprgec, 

ne gewit hafa<S ; ac gewiitu secgafS 

J>a3t sec sy earmost ealra wihta, 

))ara |'e a;fter gecyndum ccnned wsere. 15 

Ne hafaS hio sawle ne feorh ; ac hio sij'as sceal 

geond )»as wundorworuld wide dieogan. 

Ne hafa'fi hio blod ne ban ; hvva;|)ie bearnuin weai(S 

39 I T/i., (in. wihte. — 2 A/S., /uld. -myrwe ; Ilolth. (A". .S'. xxxvii, 208) as iit 
text. — 3 MS. (/'.), Til. feiiN fii|«endc. - .| 7'//. geotan/^^r heotan ; />'.■ 7". (p. 1053) 
gesceapheotan ('teats'). 

40 I MS., F.dd. sy ; Sie7\ (/'/>'/)'. x, 477) sie resoli<ed. — 2 M.S. ticluni /«;• tiduni. — 
4 MS. maram. — 6 G)i. faran. — 8 Tli., (hi. wide ferh ; Gfi.'^ wideferh. — 10 G>t. no 
be/ore hafa'S {Gn.^ ' misprint'). — 1 1 J\IS. eagene. Gti. acids hafa^. — • 1 2 Th. spraece. 



30 RIDDLKS OV THE EXETER BOOK 

geoiid I'isne midtlangeard niongum to fiofre. 

NaBfie hio heofonum hran nc to helle mot ; 20 

ac hio sceal wulefcrh wuldorcyningcs 

larum lifgan. Long is to secganne 

hu hyre ealdorgesceaft rofter gongeJS, 

woh wyrda gesceapu ; |'ivt [is] wrStlic ping 

to gesecganne ; socS is Sghwylc 25 

])ara ]'e ymb ))as \viht[^] worcium bccnefi. 

Ne hafaJS heo /im (Cfilg, leofa|' efne se peah. 

Gif \n\ mrege leselan lecene gesecgan 

sojmm wordum, saga \\\\xi hio hatte. 

41 

Ece is sc s(vp])en<l, sc pas eoi|>an nu 

\vI■e^st^l|)unl [?tV(/A/r/'] ond pas world healdeiS ; 

rice is se leccend ond on rvht cvniiig, 

ealra anwalda, eoi|>an ond heofones 

healdeiS ond \vealde(S, swa he hweorfecS ymb )'as utan, 5 

Hejmec wrstlice worhte ajt frymcSe [iio^] 

l>a he pisne ymlihwyrft Srest sette ; 

hcht mec wa^ccende wunian longe, 

pa:t ic ne slepe sippan refie, 

ond mec semninga slitp ofeigimgep, 10 

beo'S eagan min ofestum betyned. 

21 77/., Gil. wide feih ; Gii.'- widefeili. MS. cyiiinge. — 22 Su-t. {PBf!. x, 482) 
secgan. — 24 T/i. ndd.f is. — 26 MS., Kdd. wiht ; Holtli. {K. S. xxxvii, 208) adds 
aifre after wiht, or reads has wiht ymb[e]. — 27 MS. he ha-iiig lim; W. notes that 
he is certainly 7oritteii by another hand : Thorpe see.: o~'er the e ^y' he an a. Sell, a 
seratehedoiit o\ IT. {.w T. and F. M.) nothins;^ : /:'(/</. xnig lim. 

41 / notice <! /tare (eiit) in JfS. after scyppend (1. 1) and world (1. 2), but no 
words seem to be missiiii^ there. 

2 Sie7: (PBP. x, 520) declares that wreNstulnim does not satisfy metrical require- 
ments and that the sense also demands a jd pers. sim^'-., parallel to healde^" ; Holth. 
(/. /'. iv, 387) 7i<ould read weardaS after -stuhum. — 3 MS., Th. ric. — 5 MS. swa 
he ymb has utan hweorfe^'; Gn. note hweorfe^" utan? Sie7\ {PBB. x, 520) 'per- 
haps swa he hweorfe^" ymb has ?' — 8 Th., Gn. het. — 10 Th. note a.c for ondsign ? 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



31 



]7isne middangeard meahtig Dryhten 

mid his onwakle Sghwitr styrecS ; 

swa ic mid waldendes worde ealne 

Jnsne yiiil)h\vyrft litan ynibclyppe. 15 

Ic eom bleacS to j^oii \)xt mec l)ealdlice maeg 

gearu gongende grlma abrcgan, 

ond eofDie eom rEghwJEr cenra 

l>onne he gebolgeii bidsteal giefe'JS ; 

ne moeg mec oferswijjan segnberendra 20 

aenig ofer eorpan nympe se ana God, 

sc l)isne hean heofon healde]' ond wealde)'. 

Ic eom on stence strengre [micle] 

))onne licels o))|)e rose sy, 

[|)e swa anlice] on eor|>an tyrf 25 

wynlic weaxeJS ; ic eom wicestre j'onne heo : 

])eah I'c hbe sy Icof moncynne, 

beorht on bldslman, ic eom betre J'onne heo; 

swylce ic nardes stenc nyde ofers\vi|)e 

mid minre swetnesse symle ^ghwar ; 30 

ond ic fulre eom ))onne |ms fen swearte, 

]>xt her yfle adelan stincecS. 

Eal ic under heofones hwearfte recce, 

swa me leof ladder Icerde aet frym|)e, 

])aet ic ))a mid ryhte reccan mdste 35 

J)icce ond )'ynne ; I'inga gehwylces 

onhcnesse SghwSr healde. 

Hyrre ic eom heofone ; hate|> mec heahcyning 

his deagol ])ing dyre bihealdan : 

eac ic under eorj^an eal sceawige 40 

wom| wraJSscrafu \vra|'ra gaista. [''''^] 

t6 MS., Edd. to hon blea'5; Herzf. (p. 51) as in text. — 17 Spr. i, 494 gearu- 
gongende. — 23, 25 The additions «;-<? by Gn.; IV. notes that there is no i^ap in the 
MS. — -39 77/. ;/<'/6' hiliealden ? — 41 6';/.- wonii ? yJAV. wraiS scraf u ; 77/. wom-wra^- 
fcrafu [inispyint) ; Gn. wrac-scrafu ; Spr. ii, 738, Gn!^ wra'S-scrafu. MS. gesta. 



32 KlDDl.KS OV THK KXKTKR HOOK 

Ic eom micle yldra |>onnc ymbhwyrtt )'es 

o|>|>e )>cs middangeard meahte geweorj'an, 

oml ir giostviMi \va"s geong acennoil, 

ukTmc to monnum. |>urh numo inotlor hrif. 45 

Ic eom litgerro fraHwum gokles, 

|>cah hit nK)n awergo wirum utan ; 

ic- com wvrsluie |'oiino |'cs wudu fula 

oWo I'is waroi'S I'e her aworpcn ligoi^. 

Ic eoi|>an eom ivghwitr bimlre 50 

ond wuigielra |>onne |>es wong grena ; 

fohii mec ma^g bifon ond fingras |>ry 

utan ea|'e ealle ymbclypixin. 

Heardra ic eom ond caldra l)onne se hearda forst, 

hiim heorugrimma, |>onne he to hrusan cymeiS ; 55 

\_ic eom] IMcanus upirnendan 

leohtan leoman lege hatra. 

Ic eom on goman gena swetra 

|)onne ]m beobread blende mid hunige ; 

swvlce ic eom \\Ta|>re |'onne wermod sy 60 

[|>e] her on hyrstnn\ heasewe stonde)>. 

Ic mesan nKvg meahtelicor 

ond efnetan ealdum |'yrse ; 

ond ic gesielig ma^g symle lifgan, 

I'cah ic ivtes ne sy ivfre to feore. 65 

Ic UKVg fromlicor tleogan |'onne pernex 

o|'|'e earn ol'pe hafoc a'tre meahte : 

nis /etYerus, se swifta wincl, 

4; MS. |\vs ; />;. I'cs ; (///. //.>/c* wa-s ? — 47 77t. note (p. 52S) awrige ? — 50 Th. 
in /<>r ic ; 0"«. [yfele] in eorban ; ^SV^. notis that meter an J sense require no addition. 
— 52 Sie^\ (n>/>. X, 476) resolves -fon. — 55 MS., Th. heoru grimma. — 56 Gn. 
adds ic eom. — 6i Un.adds he. — 63 MS., Th. efn etan. MS., Th. hyrre ; Th. note 
hyrse ? — 66 MS., Th. p'nex ; ^<7/. reads pene.x and declares that the e is scratched 
out, but may still be seen, lohile the accent is not erased : If. sees no e, and regards 
the accent as the abbre^'iation s/^ft custotnary ':cith p. / see no e [nor does />. .1/.), 
but the accent is certainly like the lon^ ■^'i^n. 



RIDDLKS OF THE KXK'IKK HOOK 33 

jnvt swa fromlu-e moeg fcran EeghwSr : 

me is sna^gl swiftia, snelra regnvvyrm 70 

ond fenyce iore hre|»ie ; 

is ))?es gores sunn gonge hra;dia, 

))one we wifel wonlum | neninafi. [''■''] 

Hefigere ic com niicle |>oniie se haia stan 

()|i|'c iinlylel Icades clympie ; 75 

leohtre ic com micel |Hjniie |>l's lytla vvyrm 

|)e her on flode g£ES fotum dryge. 

Flinte ic eoni heardra )»e |)is fyr dnfe|) 

of |)issuni slroiigan style heardan ; 

hnescre ic eom micle halsrefepre 80 

seo her on winde wSweiS on lyfte. 

Ic eorpan eom ceghwjer l)raidre 

ond widgelra ]'onne |'cs wong grena; 

ic uttor [eal)e] eal ymbwinde 

wrSthcc gevvefen wundorcrajfte. 85 

Nis under me itnig ol'er 

wiht vvaldendre on worldHfe ; 

ic eom ufor* ealra gesceafta, 

para )>€ worhte vvaldend user, 

se mec ana ma^g ecan meahtum 90 

gef'eon prymme J'oet ic onjmnian ne sceal. 

Ahua ic com ond strcngra |)onne se micla hwa^l, 

se j'e garsecges grund bihealdeft 

svveartan syne ; ic eom s\vi|'ra [lonne he ; 

swylce ic eom on ma:;gene minum IeEssc 95 

70 MS. snelro )jon ; T/i. note snelra se ? — 72 MS. ic for is. — 77 MS., T/i. 
flonde ; T/i. note flode ? — 78 IV. the second a in lieardra is corrected from e. Gn. 
se |>is. W. notes the erasure of a letter after fyr. — 84 Gn. reads call ; Jlolth. {Bb. ix, 
358) ana before eal; I/olth. {E.S. xxxvii, 208) supplies eabe ; compare line 53. — 
86 77/. note ofer yi'r under ? — 91 MS., 7'h. onrinnan ; '/7i. note onwinnan ; Gn. 
onHnnan ; Gn."^, Spr. ii, 353, B.-T. onhunian {see 46- |>unian). — 94 MS., Juld. 
sweartan syne ; Ilerzf. (p. 69) sweart ansyne. MS., 7'h. swil^re. — 95 7'h., Gn. ma'gne. 



34 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

])onne se hondwyrm se |'e haelejva beam, 

secgas searoj'oncle, seaxe delfaS. 

Ne hafu ic in heafde hwite loccas, 

wrffiste gewundne, ac ic eom wide calu ; 

ne ic breaga ne brijna brucan moste, loo 

ac mec bescyrede scyppend eallum : 

nil me wr^tlice weaxafi on heafde 

faet me on gescyldrum scinan motan 

ful wrgetlice wundne loccas. 

Mara ic eom ond faettra )>onne amaested swin, 105 

bearg bellende, [pe] on bocwiida 

won wrotende wynnum lifde 



J'set he 



42 

edniwu [112^] 



I'cCt is moddor monigra cynna, 

jiccs selestan, j'tes sweartestan, 

]'oes deorestan, ]'res )'e dryhta beam 

ofer foldan sceat to gefean agen. 5 

Ne magon we her in eor))an owiht lifgan, 

nymcSe we brucen )';^s ]'a beam d68. 

J'cCt is to gej'encanne peoda gehwylcum, 

wisfaestum werum, liwaet seo wiht sy. 

43 

Ic seah wyhte wrffitllce twa 
undearnunga fite plegan 

103 Gn. moton. — 106 Bright [I'c]. — loS 77/. ' here a leaf of the AfS. is viani- 
festly 'wanting containing the end of this and the beginning of the following enigma.'' 
IV. perceives no gap in the MS. [hast he closes the page"], but below, in another hand 
and in other ink, almost obliterated hit is ; then about twelve letters %i<hich he is un- 
able to decipher. These seem to me to be sio creatura pr. 

42 6 Gn. on. — 7 Siev. {PBB. x, 477) doS resolved; Holth. (Bb. ix, 35S) do[a]S. 
— 8 Siev. {PBB. X, 482) gel'encan. — 9 Siev. (PBB. x, 477) rcsoh'cs .sy. 

43 2 Siev. {PBB. X, 520) 'perhaps plegian.' 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 35 

hffimedlaces ; hwitloc anfeng 

wlanc under wEedum, gif j^aes weorces speow, 

fsemne fyllo. Ic on flette maeg e 

]mrh runstafas rincum secgan, 

]'am I'e bee witan, bega aetsomne 

naman ))ara wihta. Jjger sceal Nyd wesan 

twega oper ond se torhta ^sc 

an an linan, Acas twegen, 10 

Haegelas swa some. Hwylc )'3es hordgates 

cSgan craefte pa clamme onleac 

f»e }>a rjedellan wiS rynemenn 

hygefaeste heold heortan bewrigene 

orjjoncbendum ? Nu is undyrne 15 

werum set wine hu ]>a. wihte mid us, 

heanm5de twa, hatne sindon. 

44 

Ic wat indryhtne sepelum deorne 

giest in geardum, pam se grimma ne maeg 

hungor sce66an, ne se hata Jmrst, 

yldo ne adfe, gif him arlice 

esne pena8 se pe agan sceal 5 

on ]'am siSfaste. Hy gesunde set ham 

findaS witode him wiste ond blisse, 

cnosles unrim ; care, gif se esne 

his hlaforde | hyrefi yfle, [112'^] 

3 G>!. onfeng. — 4 Jl/S. speop. — 7 A/S. J^a. — 10 TA., Gn. anan linan. — 11 Sp)-. 
i, 121 hwylc = ^ei qui'' or 'si qitis.' MS. wass; T/i. ha;s. — 12 T/i. )iote clammas ? 
— 13 B.-T. S.7'. rasdels /las ijedelsan ? — 14 G/i. beheold. — - 17 C;/. no/e heah- ? 
S/r. ii, 4S heah mode. As Si:/k iioics, there is no division betiveen t/tis riddle and 
the next ; hatne sindon is folloived on same line by Ic wat (44^). 

44 4 Th. note, Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 130) adl. — 4, 5 Gn., W. add after adle, ne se 
enga deaS (compare Ph. 52), and after sceal, his geongorscipe. Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 
130) rejects these additions. — 5 Cos. se J^e = }>one J'e. Gn. agan. — 6 ]\IS., Th. 
siSfate. MS., Th. hyge sunde ; Th. note 'r. sundne {a sound fiiind).'' — 8 Th. note 
' before care a tvord, perhaps butan, is omitted.'' 



36 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

frean on f5re ; ne wile forht wesan lo 

brol'or ol'rum : him |'?et bam sce?ieS, 

|»onne hy from bearme begen h\veorfa8 

anre magan ellorfuse 

moddor ond sweostor. Mon, se ]>e wille, 

cy)'e cynewordum hu se cuma hatte 15 

e'6j)a se esne ]'e ic her ymb sprice. 

45 

WrsEtlic honga(S bi weres J'eo, 

frean under sceate ; foran is jiyrel ; 

bi6 sti)' ond heard, stede hafaS godne, 

fonne se esne his agen hraegl 

ofer cneo hefeS, wile ]>xt cupe hoi 5 

mid his hangellan heafde gretan 

))9et he efenlang ser oft gefylde. 

46 

Ic on wincle gefraegn weaxan nathwaet, 

))indan ond Jmnian, pecene hebban. 

On )>aet banlease bryd grapode 

hygewlonc hondum ; hrosgle j'eahte 

])rindende |>ing ))eodnes dohtor. 5 

47 
Wer sset set wine mid his wifimi twam 
ond his twegen suno ond his twa dohtor, 

10 Klaeb. {M.P. ii, 145) regards the second half-line as pare)itlietical. — 16 Git. 
note o'S'Se ? MS., Th. sprice ; Gn., Jl\ sprece ; cojupare 24". 

45 I Siev. {PBB. X, 478) resolves J'eo; Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 129) l>eo(h)e. — 7 MS. 
(r.), r//., Gn. efe lang; T/i. note efne lang? GnP-, W. efelang; Tr. {BB. xix, 192) 
efen-lang. 

46 I MS. win cle. ^fS., Th., Gn., JF. weax ; Dietr. (xi, 474) 'weax (//Vrweacs, 
eiwas weickesy or weaxan ; Herzf. (p. 69) weascan ; Ilolth. (/. F. iv, 367) weaxan ; 
Sie7}. {PBB. X, 520) siig-gests a genitive, i.e. waces. — 2 Dietr. (xi, 474) Fenian {sich 
dehnen). — 5 Th. Hndende ; Gn. note Irintende ? 

47 I MS., Con, Wjer. Con. wifa. Con. omits twam. — 2 Con., Ettin., Gn. suna. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 37 

swase gesweostor ond hyra suno twegen, 

freolico frumbearn ; fseder waes J)£er inne 

}»ara ee))elinga seghwaeSres raid, 5 

earn ond nefa. Ealra wseron fife 

eorla ond idesa insittendra. 

48 

Mo(5^e word frret ; me \>xt |)uhte 

wraetlTcu wyrd, ]>a ic )»set wundor gefrsegn, 

j'Kt se wyrm forswealg wera gied sumes, 

peof in ))ystro, I'rymfaestne cwide 

ond J^aes strangan stajjol. Staelgiest ne waes 5 

wihte J)y gleawra | )'e he fam wordum swealg. [ 1 1 3-^] 

49 

Ic gefrsegn for h3ele)mm bring [gerjendean 

torhtne butan tungan, tila feah he hlijde 

stefne ne cirmde strongum wordum. 

Sine for secgum swigende cwoe'S : 

" Gehsele mec, helpend gaesta ! " 5 

Ryne ongietan readan goldes 

guman galdorcwide, gleawe be)'encan 

hyra hsElo to Gode, swa se hring gecwae'S. 

50 

Ic wat eardfcestne anne standan 
deafne dumban, se oft daeges swilgeS 

■^ Ettfu. gesweoster. MS., Con., Th. hyre ; Eitm. hira; Gn., IF. hyra. Co/., 
Ettm. suna. — 4 Con., Ettm. freolicu. — 5 Con. Ettm. asghwae'Seres. 

48 2 SuK wraettlicu. — 3 Sw. giedd. — 4 Sw. J>rymmf3estne. — 6 Betiveen 48 and ^^ 
there is no spacing in tlie MS., not even a closing sign; swealg (6) is followed on the 
same line by Ic gefraegn (49^). 

49 I MS. fer; Fldd. for. MS., Th. hringende an ; Gn., W. hring [aerjendean; 
h'laeb. {M.P. ii, 145) hring a;ndean {or endean) = aerndean < aerendian. — 2 After 
tila no gap in MS.; Gn., IV. supply reordian and thus complete hemistich; Siei). 
(PBB. xii, 479) begins a nezu verse with stefne ; as does Klaeb. {M.P. ii, 145), -rt'ho 
reads as in text, tila l-eah he hlude| stefne ne cirmde. — 7 MS., Edd. belnincan ; 
Gn. note be)>encan .'' 



jS Ki ni>i IS o\- 111 1 1 \i 11 K r.ooK 

I'Uih jAoprs hoiul j;ilimu l.uuin. 

ll\\iliin\ on |'.in\ wuiiin sc woniia I'l-gn, 

SWiMit owd s;iioiU'l>, soiuK'i^ o|'ic 5 

uiuKm i;oin.in hiiu uoliU- ilyiian, 

|';i ;v|'cliiii;;is olt uiliii.ii"^, 

r\niiii^.is oiul i-wxiic. Ic |';v't i\n mi ^cii 

iu-n\n.in \\c willr, |'r Iniu to lultc s\\ .i 

oinl to iliiL^I'uin il>>l' |';ii >r iliimlw lu-r, lo 

ooi p imw ll.l, ;V'l I^US\\ll_^(.•^. 

\\'i_i;.i is on i-oi|'an wmulnmi aronnoil 

dnhtum to lutto, o\ ilmubum twain 

loil\t alvhttnl, |'ono on troii \vii;ciN 

fcoiul his troiulo. I'oistiaiiuiic ott 

wil hinc wn.N; ho him wol h^'^o^, S 

|H-o\va|' Www _i;o|'N\aMi\ i;il' liim I'ounia^ 

ma\i;ci^ owd maH\uas mill _mMuctc i\htc, 

t^.•^la^ hiiu' l;v\mo : he him iM-mum stcpoi^ 

hlo on lissum. l.ianai^ giimmo 

|>c hino wloiuno \\roi|>an UvtoiN. 10 

\c srali wia'thrc wnhto fcowcv 

sami-il sil'ian ; s\\caiti>'\v;vran lastas, ['*.>''] 

s\va|'U s\vi|<o Main. Swit't wa^s on t'oio 

ftilttim f>vmt\u tlcag on Ivflo. 

50 ,1 /"''/. '/.'/«• goapos ? (///. 'gi»pes (ro'. ..•.■/',■. luM^op.i .«,vr,; .').' — l ^fS., Th. 
luvilu uuM\. - 6 (>■'/. .'/;/;/,<■ him. — 10 (/«.'-, /''. iloh. — ii MS. for swilgcN; /A;'./. 
fois\vilj<eN. 

51 I MS. fiMSti.m^no; /',;'..■■. t\MstKin_s;iu\ — 5 Sir:: {J'/^/k x. 476) fr.ic/TiswvW 
S (/'/. sti'poiN; (■'/. n,'U hv hi tuiuvuu stcpe'^■? .V/W'. (/7>A\ x, 45(»), stcpevN. 

5a .\ .l/.V., /V;., (/'/. fujvlum tuni\i.i ^///.- vi .'/".1/A". fiumra /«<n' /><• <>n a 7<'/M its h^ 
f\tint!v pn,tfk€-J)\ Th. iwtf froiui.i ; (•/.•.'-. //". franua; Tr. (A'A. xix. 105) fughi fviltum. 
MS.y ir., A\i/«(v/;i' (p. ;.;i) rtootsjan hfte; /"i. ru<t< rteogun ; (/'/. //.•/•• 'tlootga 
(S. ':u'iwni(-r) on lyftc (.»•.• .»/-v<> 7 V. '//. ,• A"/-' . i, 304 (vAr. .-r/.w) <>./<•' tlo.it goond 1\ fte"; 
(V.f. l/V<7>. xxiii. I ?o) ' floog (- rteag) an lyt'te (./'. as'"*)'; Jr. fleag gcond lyfte. 



Kl DDl.l'S ()!■ 

(Ic.il nndci v| c. 
w iiinciulc w ij^A 
oU'i' Ui'Ic'il }V>lil, 



III', !• .\i:ii:k I'.ooi 

I hiaj^ mist illc 
sc liiiii wfj^.is t;i-i lu'l' 
Icowi'i cnlliiin. 



39 
5 



53 

Ic scali i;r|)iiif4;is in ra'ccd Icrj^uii 

iindci liioT sales licaidc tvvcgcn, 

(ni vvaifoii f^ciiaiunan iicaiwinii lu-ndiim 

gcfelonuk- la-sk; togu'dro. 

I'aia ()|)iiiin \v;rs an f^cU-ngo 

wiiiilali Wale, sro vvi'old liyiii 

l)rj;;i si|h' Ix-iidmn la'slia. 



54 

Ic seal) on Ncaiwc Ixain lililian 

taiiiini loihliic; ['a-l licow wa'S on wynnc, 

wiidu wcaxcndc ; wa'Ici liiiic oml coilic 

fc'ddan l;i!^ii', o|>|ia'1 lie hod da,mnii 

on o|>nMn wcaiiS a};la( hade 5 

(lco|i(' m'dolj^od, dinnl) in licndinn, 

uii|'cn o'Iri uiinda, wonninn iivistnni 

foian gel la'tw cil. Nn lie la'< lunu wc^s, 

|Miili his licaldcs nia'^cn liildcj^irslt- 

o|>iinn lyinri'S. ()ll liyrv/ r\A'SliU(lon lO 

hord ai|j;a'dic ; Ina'd wa'S ond mdict 

(> /l/.V., '///. \va);;is ; ///. //,>/,■ wci^as ? 

53 5 ;I/.S'., 7'//., </■//., yJu'//-. (xi, ,\j(>) f^eiKxmnc ; 7//. naftf, 7r. (/>7)\ xix, ii>S) 
gcmimiic ; lloltli. (/:'. S. xxxvii, 20i;) f^iMiiiiuiuiii. — 4 V'r. to (^ii'ilcie. — 6 (,'//. //I'/r- 
\v<)iili!a.\ ? C'n.f. (/'/•'/>'. xxiii, 130) ' wonf(e)al)s (</. A'/'i/. 13", woiifcax).' 

54 J llotlli. (/>'/'. i.\, 35S) omits |>a'l. — S ^^S., 'I'll. f;v( iiiim wa)^ ; ///. iioti- licc- 
niiiii weg ? — 9 yJ/.V., '///. ma'f;; '///. iioh- ma-geii ? — 10 /1/.S'. (//'.) Iiy an ysl {not 
\\r ail yst, 'I'll., (hi); 'I'll, iiolf 'hi on ysl {tlifv fi(rioiislvy \ Pictr. (xii, .! 5 ' -:S') 
'<ill Ilea (fur lieo, lii) nyst slnuloii (c// raiihlni sir iiiiiiiih'orrnthy \ (in., II'. lii 
(•;uysl; (ij/. itctr carysl caiiist, ulu n i iiih- \ h'hich. (.M.I', ii, i .| s) "H 'ly aiiys 
(aiii!s). I 1 7'//. )h</(- licaid ? 



40 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

se aeftera, gif se Srra fser, 
genamna in nearowe, nepan moste. 

55 
Hyse cwom gangan, ]'£er he hie wisse 

stondan in wincle ; st5p feorran to 

hror haegstealdmon, hof his agen 

hraegl hondum up, hrand under gyrdels 

hyre stondendre stlj^es nathwaet, 5 

worhte his willan, wagedan buta ; 

j'egn onnette, waes ))ragum nyt 

tilHc esne ; teorode hw£e}>re 

?et stunda|gehwam strong Sr )»onne hlo, [1^4*] 

werig }'3es weorces. Hyre weaxan ongon lo 

under gyrdelse ]>set oft gode men 

ferSfum freogaS ond mid feo bicgaS. 

56 

Ic seah in healle, )>£er haeleS druncon, 

on flet beran feower cynna : 

wrietlic wudutreow ond wunden gold, 

sine searobunden, ond seolfres dael, 

ond rode tacn )>3es us to roderum lip 5 

hlsedre reerde, £er he helwara 

burg abrgece. Ic ))a;s beames maeg 

ea))e for eorlum sej^elu secgan : 

]>3Bt waes hlin ond ac, ond se hearda iw, 

12 A/S. fser genamnan ; T/i., Gu., IF. fasr genam|nan; Holth. {Bb. ix, 358) 
closes the line with faer and regards genam as the beginning of a lost line ; Holth. 
{E.S. xxxvii, 208) reads [on] faer| genamnan, and compares 53^, genamne ; Bright 
suggests genamna, but prefers genumne {so also ss'^). 

55 I Th., Gn. \>z.x. — 2 MS. wine sale ; Th., IV. win-sele ; On. wincle (i.vro7igly 
citing this as Thorpe's suggestion for stipposed MS. reading -wmc, notwinc se\e). Holth. 
{E.S. xxxvii, 209) ' on stahole {</. Kid. 88'^).' — 4 MS., Th. rand. — 5 Th. stondenre. 
— 7 Th. onette. — 9 MS., Th. asr l^on hie {not hi, Gn!) 6; Gn., IV. as in text. — 
12 Gn. ferSum. 

56 I MS., Edd. heall ; Th. note, Holth. {Bb. ix, 35S) healle ? Cf. 56I-, 60I. — 
9 Th. note 'hlindy'f;- lind?' MS. ace. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 41 

ond se fealwa holen ; frean sindon ealle 10 

nyt aetgaedre, naman habbaS anne, 

wulfheafedtreo, |)cet oft waipen abaed 

his mondryhtne, ma(5m in healle, 

goldhilted sweord. Nu me gieddes pisses 

ondsware ywe, se hine onmede 15 

wordum secgan hu se wudu hatte. 

57 

Ic waes l^ser inne, ))£er ic ane geseah 

winnende wiht wido bennegean, 

holt hweorfende ; heapoglemma feng, 

deopra dolga ; daro])as waeron 

weo psere wihte ond se wudu searwum 5 

faeste gebunden. Hyre fota wass 

biidfaest 6]'er, oper bisgo dreag, 

leolc on lyfte, hvvilum londe neah, 

Treow wees getenge ])am ]'£er torhtan st5d 

leafum bihongen. Ic lafe geseah 10 

minum hlaforde, Jiaer haeleS druncon, 

))aray?a//[<z] on flet beran. 

58 

Deos lyft byrecS lytle wihte 

ofer beorghleoj'a, |'a sind|blace swipe, [^M^] 

1 2 Th., Gn. wulfheafed treo. Th. 7io(e ' abad (azvaiiei/) ? ' — 14 .IAS"., £i/d. Hsses 
gieddes ; Herzf. (pp. 43-44), on metrical grounds, gieddes J^ysscs ; Holth. (E. S. 
xxxvii, 209) adds mon after hisses gieddes. — 15 MS., Th., Cos. (FBB. xxiii, 130), 
Jlolth. {£.S. xxxvii, 209) onmede; 6"//., IF., Lieberrnanii {Arc/iiv cxiv, 163) on 
mede. 

57 2 MS., Th. wido benne gean ; Th. note wide benna (against wide wounds) ? 
— 3 Gn. hwearfende. — 5 Th. note wea ? Dietrich (xii, 238, N.) wea ; Lange (ib.) 
wis. — 7 Gn. bidfest. — 9 MS., Th. torht anstod; Gn., W. as in text. — 12 MS., 
Th. flan ; Th. note ^ some lines are here apparently wanting' ; Gn. adds geweorca ; 

so II'.; </., however. El. 285, J^aera leoda. 

58 I Tr. (BB. xix, 189) lihte. — 2 MS., Th.,S7c>., IV. hleol-a (.^3"); Gn., Tr. 
-hleo^u. 



42 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

swearte, salopade. Sanges rofe 

heapum feralS, hlude cirmafi ; 

treda6 bearonaessas, hwilum burgsalo 5 

ni)>)'a bearna. Nemnati hy sylfe. 

59 

Ic wat anfete ellen dreogan 

wiht on wonge. Wide ne ferecS, 

ne fela iideS, ne fieogan maeg 

jmrh scirne da?g, ne hie scip fereS, 

naca na^gledbord ; nyt bi(S hwcej're 5 

hyre [monjdryhtne monegum tidum. 

Hafafi hefigne steort, heafod lytel, 

tungan lange, tO(S neenigne^ 

isernes dSl ; eoicSgrasf pa^l'eS. 

Wffitan ne swelge]', ne wiht ite]', 10 

fodres ne gitsaJS, iereiS oft swa ]'eah 

lagoflod on lyfte ; life ne gielpeJS, 

hiafordes gifum, hyreJS swa ))eana 

)'eodne sinuni. J'ry sind in naman 

ryhte limstafas, para is Rad fultum. 15 

60 

Ic seah in healle hring gyldenne 

men sceawian, modum gleawe, 

fer])]mm frode. Fril'Ospe[de] b?ed 

God nergende gaste slnum 

se ]>e wende wri|'an, word ^fter cw3e'8, 5 

hring on hyrede HSlend nemde 

3 AfS., T/i. rope ; r/i. note, Gn., Sic, Brooke {E.E.L. p. 149), Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 
130) rowe ; Gn. note, IV., 7>-. rofe. — 5 T/i., Gn. tracdaiS. 

59 3 Gu. ne before masg. — 6 Th., Gn., W. [mon]. — 11 MS., T/i. fodres. — 
i^MS., Th., Gn. f urum ; Tit. note feor)ia ? Gn. note fruma <'r forma ; Dietr. (xi, 
477) fur"Sum; Gnr, Spr. \, 356, W. fultum; Holth. {/. F. iv, 3S7) furma. 

60 I MS. gylddenne. — 3 Gn. fer'Sum. A/S. ix\\>o spe (end 0/ line) baed; Tk. as 
in te.vt. 



RIDDLKS OF THE EXETER BOOK 



43 



tillfremmendra. Him torhte in gemynd 

his Dryhtnes naman dumba brohte 

ond in eagna gesihti, gif ))ais ffi|)el[est]an 

goldes tacen ongietan cupe lo 

Olid Dryhtnes do/g, don swa ])0es beages 

benne cwEEdon. A^c pu'ir In-nc niceg 

aeniges monnes ungefullodre 

Godes ealdorburg gaest gesecan, 

rodera ceastre. RSde se |ie wille 15 

hu (Sa^s wrJEtluan wunda cwaEden 

[hringes to hselejmm, [la he in healle woes [i^S^] 

wylted ond wended wloncra fohnum. 

61 

Ic wses be sonde, sEewealle neah, 

ret merefaroj'e, mlnum gewunade 

frumsta|»ole fnest; fea genig waes 

monna cynnes, j'^et minne j^Sr 

on ansBde eard beheolde, 5 

ac mec uhtna gehwam ycS sio brQne 

lagufaefime beleolc. Lyt ic wende 

j'cCt ic £er o]']'e sifi | ^fre sceolde [123^] 

ofer meodii[bence] mii81eas sprecan, 

Avordum wrixlan. J^Kt is wundres dSl 10 

9 MS., Edd. asj^elan; R., Holth. {Bb. ix, 358) a;)'el[est]an. — 11 MS.{T.) dryht 
dolg don; 77/. notes iltat ^ this is apparently corrupt and ivitlunit an alliterating 
line — dryht-dolg don ? ' Gn., IV. dryht dolgdon ; Dietr. (xii, 235) I'one dysige 
dryht dolgdon furSum. — 12 MS., Edd. ne ma;g )>asre bene; Gn., W. [to haes 
beages dolgiim] ; Holth. {/>!>. ix, 35S) notes that this is metrically false. — 13 AfS., 
Th. ungafullodre ; Th. note ungefyllodre ? Gn., IV. ungefullodre ; Cos. {PBB. xxiii, 
130) ungefullodra {gen. pi.). 

61 This riiidle begins upon leaf \22 ^\fi'e lines from the bottom ; it is immediately 
preceded by 31/' and isfollo^oed by The Husband's A/essage and The Ruin (i 23=1-1 24b). 

I .1/^. a <^/"sande is changed to o; Th., Ettm., Gn. sande. MS., Th. sae wealle. 
— 5 EJtm. anede. — 7 Th. note beleac ? — 9 Gn. adds bence, GnP' drincende, ac- 
cepted by IV., Bl. Xo gap in MS. 



44 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

on sefan searolic J'am )ie swilc ne conn, 

hu mec seaxes ord ond seo swipre bond, 

eorles ingeponc ond ord somod, 

])ingum gej'ydan, ]^?et ic \vi)) ))e sceolde 

for unc anum twam srendsprEece 15 

abeodan bealdlice, swa hit beorna ma 

uncre wordcwidas widdor ne m^nden. 

62 

Oft mec feste bileac freolicu meowle [124'' mid] 

ides on earce, hwilum up ateah 

folmum sinum ond frean sealde, 

holdum I'Eodne, swa hio haten wses. 

SiSj'an me on hrej're heafod sticade, 5 

niojian upweardne on nearo fegde. 

Gif )'aes ondfengan ellen dohte, 

mec frsetwedne fyllan sceolde 

ruwes nathwaet. Rsd hwst ic mane. 

63 

Ic eom heard ond scearp, hingonges strong, 

for8sI)'es from, frean unforcijS ; 

wade under wambe ond me weg sylfa 

ryhtne geryme. Rinc bi'S on | ofeste [125*] 

se mec on )'y(S reftanweardne 5 

h^lecS mid hraegle, hwihnii ut tyhcS 

of hole hatne, hwilum eft fareJS 

12 jVS. seaxeS; £(/</. seaxes. — 13 Herzf. (p. 69) gz^ for ord, on accoinit of 
awkiuardness of repetition. — 14 Ettm. gehydon. — 15 MS. twan ; Edd. twam. — 
17 Ettni. widor. Gn. mcendon. 

62 I MS. oft, ;/('/ of as T/i.. G>i. state. — 8 .lAV., Edd. W before mec. MS., Holtlt. 
{/>!>. ix, 358) frjEtwedne; Edd. frastwede. 

63 I MS., Th., Gn. ingonges ; Gn. note hingonges ? so Gn.-, IV. — 4 77/. geiyne. 
— 5 Sie7>. {PBB. X, 477) resolves J>y« ; Holt/i. {Bb. ix, 358) \>y[e\'S. — 6 Siev. {PBB. 
X, 476) resolves tyh'5; Cos. {PBB. xxiii. 129) tyhe'5. — 7 T/i. eft-fare'S; Gn. note 
f ege'5 ? 



RIDDLKS OF THE EXETER BOOK 45 

on neaio nathwair, nyde|) s\vi|>c 
su|)ernc sccg. Saga hwa^t ic hatte. 

64 
Oft ic secga seledreame sceal 
fjegre onl'con |'onne ic com for(S boren, 
gla^d mid golde, |)Sr guman drincafi. 
Hwilum nice on cofan cysseJS mupe 
tillic esne I'cEr wit tii bcoj), 5 

faet^me on folm[e] [finjgrum |)y(S, 
wyrceS his vvillan . . ^ hi . . 

fulre ))onne ic forfi cyme 

Ne mxg ic |'y mi pan 10 

[si]l)|'an on Icohte 

swylce eac bi(S sona 

te getacnad, 

hwoet mc to 15 

lOas rinc, j'a unc geryde waes. 

64 I Jl/S. secgan ; L't/d. secga. — 2 Siev. {PBB. x, 476) resolves -)'eon. — 5 Sie7<. 

{PBB. X, 477) resolves beo'5. — 6 T/i. fee'Sn ; grum; C;/. supplies [beclyppeS, 

finjgrum; Dieir. (xi, 479) adds [bifeh'S and finjgrum; Sch. [on folm] grum; 

W. {so 71) reads the upper lialfofow folm, then a gap of about four letters {Sch. five). 
Ilolth. {Bb. ix, 358) hy[e]S. — 7 Th. willan ; W. the n is no longer visible. Sch. 
about twenty-one letters missing; IV. the fifth appears to have been iS, the sixth 1? 
/ read clearly 1 ; B. M. gives S and the top of\w\ Dietr. [ne weorSe ic swa I'eah] . — 
8 Dietr. [on faeSme )>y]. — 9 Th., Gn., gap in MS. ; Dietr. no gap ; Sch. about tivcnty- 
three letters missing after forS-cyme. — 10, ii Dietr. adds [|>?et me se mon dyde| 
Jjaer min sweora (?) biS gesejwen ; Sch. after mil>an about twenty letters are missing, 
then han {not wan, Th., Gn.) ; IV. sees still the lo7uer part of\> before jjan ; so do I. — 
12 Th. gap in MS. ; Gn. no gap ; Sch. about twentyfour letters missing after leohte. 
— 13, 14 Sch. between sona and getacnad about seventeen letters are lacking ; Th., 
Gn. read te before getacnad ; W. sees before te some marks, perhaps rn ; Dietr. 
supplies [sweotol on eorle|fela teallriendum on fojte ; G>i., Dietr. getacnod. — 
15 Sch. after to about nine letters are missing; Dietr. inserts [bysmere se bealda 
teode]. — 16 Dietr. [rcxdjleas; I/olth. {LP. iv, 387) [sum nxd-] ; {Bb. ix, 358) 
perhaps [rece-]. I see the bottom curves of two letters, perhaps ce ; so B. M. 



46 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

65 

Ic seah F* ontl ofer wong faran, 

beran ^ M ; bSni wivs on si|)]'e 

htebbendes hyht, N ond K, 

swylce I'ryl'a ciitl, [> oml P^ ; 

gcfcah r end r. fleah ofer T, 5 

I/] ond K sylfcs |'ivs folces. 

66 

Cwico wa^s ic, ne cwa^cS ic wiht ; cwele ic efne so ))eah ; 

xr ic \va?s, eft ic- cwom ; Sghwa nice leafaJS, 

hafaiN mec on hcadre ond min heafod scire|>, 

bitecS mec on b;vr he, briceJS mine wisan. 

Monnan ic ne bite, nym|'e he me bite; 5 

sindan |'ara monige J'C mec bitaiS. 

67 

Ic eom mare j'onne ))es middangeard, 

iSsse J'onne hondjwyrm, leohtre I'onne mona, [125*^] 

swiftre J'onne sunne. Sfes mc sind ealle 

flodas on f;^^mum ond ]'es foUhui bearm, 

grene wongas ; grundum ic hrine, 5 

helle underhnige, heofonas oferstlge, 

wuldres e|'el ; wide rSce 

ofer engla card ; eur|'an gefylle. 



65 2 J/S., /•;</./. sil-he; //.'////. (f!/'. ix, 35S) sil>e. — 3 //<>////. H. A [samod], tc/V// 
omission <»/'ond. Git. A ^tnisprint for A). — 4 ^[S., T/i., G>/., Ilich. {^Aiii^lia x, 597) f. 
/r. P-. Ilolth. W E [samod]. — 5 Tr. {Bb. v, 50) H for F. — 5, 6 //.'////. supplies 
and before tleah luui swylce before S-rin/e. 

66 3 V'/'t. note hea^re ? — 4 MS., Tli. onba;rlic i^seereily'''). — 5 .1/^. nyniphe 
(//.'/ nymhe, T/i.,Gn.: ;/<'/ nymppe, AV/.) ; //o/t//. {Bb. ix, j^S) siishiins p/tonetieol/y 
the MS. form ; Edd. nymhe. 

67 I Con. Son l>a:s. .IAS", miiulangeard. — 4 MS., Con., T/i., Ettm., Gn. |>as ; 
G/i. note, Gn.- )>es. Ettnt. note beaimas ? — 6 Con. heofenes. 



RIDDLKS OF THE KXKTKR IKJOK 47 

ealne niiddangeanl ond merestreamas 

side mid nic sylfuiii. Saga h\\\Tt ic hatte. 10 

68 

Ic on j'inge gefia-gn ])codcyninges 
wrStlice wiht word galdra .... 
s'//y//[_n>^ 



hio symle dc(N fira ^^;r//7o\_(iJ//^ 
wisdome wundor mc |';v;t w 



fet nc f[()lme] 
cwi|'e(S cynn 



na;nne mu(S hafafi, 
. wclaii oft sacaJS, 



vvearJS 

Icoda larC'Ow, for|>on nu longe niag[on] 

[awa to] ealdre cce lifgan 

missenlice pendcn menu bugafi 15 

eor|'an sceatas. Ic pa^t oft geseah 

golde gegierwed, j'ser guman druncon, 

9 Jl/S., Co7i., Ettm. ealdne. — 10 Con. mec. Con., Kttm. selfum. 

68 Omitted by Th., Gii. 1 /;/ M.S. I is no longer visible ; B.M. gi7<es top of this. 
Sch. \>\\\ . . . heodcyninges ; IV. sees still the icpper part of a g, then a gap of 
two letters, then efiCEgii ; B.M. reads Hng(/<'/ of €) and {top <?/■ g)ef raeTn {sic). — 
z B. M. incorrectly raetlice. Holth. {Bb. ix, 358) woidgaldra. Sch. after galdra 
some tioentyfonr letters are missing. — 3 Seven letters before hio, B.M. reads snytt, 
;/('/ seeti by Sch., 1 1'. — 4 Sch. after gel, a gap of perhaps tioenty-six letters ; instead 
of gt\ (Sch., IV.), B.M. reads gehw ? — 6 \vi, added by Sch., is still seen by IV. and 
bv me. Sch., II'. |>a . . . \v ? />'. J/. 1'a.t w . . . ; IV. sees of w only the lo7ver part ; 
after this some twenty-eight letters are missing {Sch.). — 8, 9 MS. {Sch., /T.) enne ; 
/)'. M. nrcnne. Ifolth. {Bb. ix, 358) suggests [nj^nne and f[olme]. — 9 Sch. fet in ? 
[f] ? \V. reads fet. ne, then under the line a long stroke {seen by B.M. and by me) ; 
then about t'wentyseven letters are lacking (Sch.). — 1 1 IV. reads cynn (I see lotoer 
part), not seen by Sch.; then a gap of some eighteen letters (Sch. tioenty-ttvo). — 
13 //' (so I) reads mag, not seen by Sch.; then about seven missing letters (Sch. 
ten). — 13, 14 llolth. (Anglia xxiv, 264) proposes mag[on] | [awa to] ealdre. 



48 KIDDLKS OK IHK KXIOTER 1U)C)K 

since ond scolt'io. Sccgc se |>c cunne, 
wisfu'stia Inwlc, h\v;vl sco wiht sy. 

69 ^Gn. 68) 

If |>;i wiht gosoali on wcg fcran ; 

lu'i) \v;vs wia'tlice wuiulrum gegierwed. 

W'undoi wcaicN on wcgo : \v;vtei woaiiN to bane. 

70 (Gn. 6q) 

Willi is writtlR- |>ani |>o hyre wisan ne conn : 

singe(N |nuh sidan ; is se swcora woh 

orl>i)ncum geworht ; luifa|) eaxle twa 

sceavp on gescyUlruni. Hisgosceapo [drcogeJS], 

ll'o swa writtlice be wege stonde, [126^] 5 

hcah onil hlctntorlit, h;vle|nnn to nytte. 

71 (Gn. 70) 

Ic eom rices xhi icade bewajfed. 

SticS ond stcap wong. sta|'ol \v;vs iu ))a 

wyrta wlitetorlura : nu coin \vra))ra laf, 

fyros ond fcole, fa^ste genoarwad, 

wire geweoij'ail. \\'cpci"s hwilum 5 

for gripe mmum sc j'C gold wigci^, 

))onne \c yl'an sceal fe 

19 //,'////. (AV-. i.\, 358) sie yiv sy. 

69 1 (/"//. wihte. O'n. note on wxg ? Gn. faian. — 2 MS. s/\c" 0/ closin^s^ after 
gegierwed (//'.). <///</ Wundor t>egin.<! new line ~u'ith capital (7'.); so Th. prints I. 3 
</j- a separate riddle. This is Tr.'s view. Cf. 37-"'^. — 3 6"//. note wa;ge ? 

70 1 MS. hyia. — 3 MS., Th. tua. — 4 Th. note hyre ? ^\<' gap in MS. : Gn. 
supplies [dreogetS]. — 5 7'h. note stonda'^ ? (7'//. note be wa^ge stondevN ? 

71 2 llolth. {Bb. ix, 358) steapwong. Th. \vongsta|>ol. Th. iu-l>a. — 3 MS., 
Th. wlite torhtra. — 5 Th. note gewreol'ad (gewril'od). — 6 MS., Edd. miiuini 
gripe; llolth. (E.S. xxxvii, 20c)) gripe minum. Th. note wege'ii} — y Gn. note 
ywan ? Th., Gn. close the riddle loith sceal, and take bete (1. 10) with the ne.vt 
riddle, at end of first full line. After sceal some nine letters are missing {Sch.). 
Before hriiigum I see at end of line the upper stroke of a letter, then a missing letter, 
then se (/>'. .lA fe). 



Kii)i)i.i;s oi' I'lii': i;.\i;i'i;k i500K 49 

hringum gchyrsted nic bil .... 

(Iryhlne nun 

vvlite bete lo 

72 (Gn. 71) 

Ic \va;s lytel some 

. . ante geaf 

\vc |»e unc gemSne 

sweostor min 

fctide mec [faEgre] ; oft ic fcower teah 5 

swaese bropor, |)ara onsundran gehwylc 
da^gtidum mc drincan scalde 
jnirh |)yrel l)earle. Ic l)aih on lust, 
oJ»)jaet ic waes yldra ond j'xt anforlet 

S Sc/i. gehy[r.sted] [me], ami tliot twenty-tlnee missing letters ; IV. {so A'. A/, 
and /) reads the upper half of rsted me, then bil (?), then some t^vetity missing 
letters; Holth. (Anglta xxiv, 264) h\\>for bil (}V.). — 9 Sih. after min, a gap of some 
twenty-one letters. Above wlite B. Af. reads go. — 10 Sch. wlite is the last word of 
the Hue ; under it is bete : 7 On account of the closing'' -fig ft Sch., tinlike Th., regards 
bete as belonging to this riddle, and as a part of a perhaps shorter end-line. IV. be- 
lieves that there is no gap before bete, but that as last word it is written, as is com- 
mon, at the right end of the next line \^see 38, 46, 54, 86]. Before bete is also a sign 
[very common in Kiddles'] that refers it to the preceding line {IV.). I agree with 
Sch. and //'. 

72 I, 2 Th., Gn. Ic waes bete; Sch. Ic wacs . . . {about twenty letters) 

. . . geaf; W. reads after waes the upper part of lyt and before geaf, ante {the 
lower part of zw); Ilolth. {Anglia xxiv, 264) proposes [br]ante geaf [las]. I read 
after lyt clearly e and upper part of\ {not seen by B. AL), and at beginning of line, 
half 7vay between lytel and ante, so clearly and then m (.''). B. M. reads so and the 
greater part of m^. After ge^i, Th.,Gn. give no gap ; Sch., W. a gap of some thirty- 
t7uo letters. — 3 APS. { IV., T.) we he unc gemaene ; Th., Gn., Sch. we unc gemane. 
After gemaene some nineteen letters are missing. Dietr. (xi, 481) proposes (1-3) : 

Ic wa;s [of hame adrifen, liearm minne] bete, 
se \>Q me gemseccean goaf, we unc gemxne [oft] 
[swiSas asetton ; ic ond] sweostor min. 

— 5 e in mec is worn away { !V.) ; after mec .SV7/. sees a gap of some eleven letters ; 
Gn?' supplies faegre ; Dietr. supplies frodra sum ; Iferzf. (p. 70) ful faegre and {cf. 
51", 54*). B. AI. reads oft ic, not seen by Sch., //'., or by me. — 6 Th., Gn., Dietr. 
l-ara |.e. — 8 Ilolth. (Bb. ix, 35S) |>ah. — 9 Th. note \>onnG for Kxt ? Th. an-forlet; 
Gn., IV. an forlet. 



50 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

sweartum hyrde, sipade wicldor, lo 

meaicpal>as \\'alas tr;v;d, moras preside 

biinden under beame, bcag hrefde on healse, 

wean on laste weorc j'rowade, 

earfoi^a dx\. Oft mec isern scod 

sare on sidan ; ic swigade, 1 5 

nSfre meldade monna itngum, 

gif mc ordstajpe egle wEeron. 

73 (Gn. 72) 

Ic on wonge aweox, wunode I'fer mec feddon 

hrusejond heofonwolcn, o|'))a;t onhwyrftlon me [126*^] 

gearum frodne, ]'a me grome vvurdon, 

of |'i"tre gecynde ]'e ic Jtr cwic beheold, 

onwentlan mine wisan, wegedtMi mec of earde, 5 

gedydon |>a?t ic sceokle \vi|' gesceajie mmum 

on bonan willan bugan hwilum. 

Nii eom />■('■(/// ;//h/rs folme bysigo[d] 

dlan (htl, gif his ellen deag, 

ol'l'e ;vfter tlome ri 10 

ilan mSr|'a fremman, 

wvrcan we 

ec on I'eotle utan we 

jie ond to \vrohtstaf[um] 



n eorp, eaxle gegyrde 

wo •• 

ond swiora sm;\:;l, sidan fealwe 

I'onne mec hea]>osigel 

scir bescineJS ontl mec 20 

II Gfi. uote Wala ? — 12 77/. //«'/<• bearme ? Gn. beah. — 14 c hi mec a/'/'eiirs 
effaced ( /r.); / read it easily. — 17 MS., T/i. ord sta^pe. 

73 I -l/A". woiiode ; Edd. wunode. — 2 MS., Gn. heofon wlonc ; 77/. heofon- 
wlonc ; Gn.-, W. heofonwolcn. MS., Edd. me onhwyrfdon ; Herzf. (p. 44) 
onhwvrfdon me. — ^ Gn. wise. — S MS., Edd. mines frean. 



KIDDLl'.S OF THE KXETKR BOOK 5 1 

8-20 (J II. .a/////<-.v, ('// ktsis of 7'/i's h-xt 0/ MS.: 

Nil eom mines frcan folme by . . . 

Ian da-l, gif his ellen deag, 

o'SSe he {not in MS., Th.) xfter dome [da;dum wille] 

mxrSa freniman 

wyr[cean] on )>eode utan \vrohtst[afas] 

eaxle gegyrde 

and swioia snia'i, sidan fealwe 

|>()nne mec hea'Sosigel 

scir bescineX and mec 

Dietr. (xi, 481-482) supplies as follows : 

Nu eom mines frean fohiie by[sig], 

[ajfle him eorfJweJlan da:l, gif his ellen deag, 

o"S'Se he x'fter dome [dajdum wille] 

ma;rSa fremman, [m:ugensi)ede] 

[wyrjcean on l)eode utan [wrohtstjafas. 

[Sindon me on heafde hyrste beorhte], 

eaxle gegyrde [isernes da;le], 

and swiora smael, sidan fealwe. 

[Ha;dre mec ahebte], l>onne mec heacSosigel 

scir bescineiS' and mec [scyldwiga] 

Sell. : folme by . g . . . {five letters') . . . Ian dx'l gif — dome ri . . . (fnirteen letters) 
. . . dan ma.T|>a fremman wyrcan w . . . {about twenty letters) . . . ec non )>eode utan 
w . . . {about twenty-three letters) . . . pe and to wroht stap . . . {about twenty-fiTe 
letters) . . . n eorp eaxle gegyrde wo : . . . {about twenty-ei^lit letters) . . . ond swiora 
— fealwe . . . {about eighteen letters) . . . Jjofi — ond mec . . . {seven leller.<:) . . . 
fx'gre. 

IV.: 8 by . go. — 1 1 Of dan ma;r|'a only the upf>er part. — 13 A'ot ec non (.SV7/.), 
but after c stands a perpendicular strohe, going below the line (w ? J> ?), then on ; 
;'// the same line with -tan, we. 

/// the J/S. is not the slightest trace of the stroke seen by 11 '. (7'.). L/he />./!/. 
I read ec on }>eode u | tan we. 

Ilolth. {Bb. ix, 358) reads by[s]go[d] ; {Anglia xxiv, 264): 

8-9 Nu eom mines fre[g]an folme bysgo 
[eadwejlan da'l, etc. 

II-I2 [Men ofer mol]dan nuurl)a fremman, 
wyrcan w[elda;dum] 

14 wrohtstaf[um] — Ilolth. here rejects stap of MS. {B.M., Sch., IV.) 
as ' nothing can be made out of it.' 

16 [earan] or [eagan] ? 

17 wo[mb] or wo[ngan] ? 

B.M. reads clearly bysigo (8), the upper curve of d before Ian (9), tti instead of di 
before an (11), we (12), <;;/</ stap (i.|). 



52 RIDDLES OF^ THE EXETER liOOK 

fjegre feormaJS ond on fyrd wigeS 
craefte on hajfte. CuiS is wide 
|'3et ic |)ristra sum ))eofes crsefte 

under l)r;vgnlocan 

hwilum cawunga e|'elfaesten 25 

forftweard brece )>aet xr friS hajfde. 

Feringe from, he fus l)onan 

wendefi of ))am wicum. VViga sc J'e mine wisan 

[j\7A'] cunne, saga hwa^t ic hatte. 

74 (Gn. 73) 

Ic \v?es fSmne geong, feaxhar cwene 

ond Snlic rinc on ane tid ; 

fleah mid fuglum ond on flode swom, 

deaf under y|)e dead mid fiscum, 

ond on foldan stoji, ha;fde ferM cwicu. 5 

75 (Gn. 74) 

Ic swiftne geseah on swape feran [127'^] 

M + n N. 

76 (Gn. 75) 
Ic ane geseah idese sittan. 

77 (Gn. 76) 

Sse mec fedde, sundhehii peahte, 
ond mec ypa wrugon eor]>an getenge, 
fe)>elease. Oft ic flode ongean 

21 A/S. wige'N, not as Gn. sfdtcs, wegeii ; T/i. note wege'N ? — 23 J/.S'., T/i. Crista. 
— 24 MS., Th., G>i., Dietr., IV. hrcegnlocan ; T/i. note hra;gl-locan ? Spr. ii, 137, 
Gfi.'^ brasgnlocan. jVo gti/> in MS., Th.; Dietr, (xi, 4S2) supplies hwilum neSe ; 
Gnr bealde ne■^"e. — 27 Gn. note fceringa. — 28 A'o gap in MS., Edd. ; Herzf. (p. 70) 
assumes, on account of absence 0/ alliteration, a gap 0/ at least tivo half-lines after 
cunne. 

74 5 MS., Gn.. II'. fonN; Th.. .V/-;-. i, 2S1, Cos., Tr. {BB. xix, 201) fercN. 

75 2 MS. D, N. L. H; Th.Ain. D. N. U. H; //'. n /v N {Holth., Bh. ix, 35S). 
77 1 .IAS'., J'h. se; (///., IV. sa\ 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 53 

miiS ontynde ; nu wile monna sum 

mill fiaEsc fretan, felles ne reccefi, 5 

si)»))an he me of sidan seaxes orde 

hyd arype?) [ond m]ec hr[a]))e sipj'an 

iteS unsodene eac 

78 
Oft ic flodas 

as cynn milium ond 

[^/] iv/t' me to mos[e] 

swa ic him 

an ne xt ham gesst ... 5 

flote cwealde 

I'urh orj'onc . . . yj)um bewrigene. 

5 A/S., Til., Afad. (p. 48) recceS; Git., IV. receS. — 7,8 Th., Gn. arypcS 

be ; Sell. arype'S . . . {foiir letters) . . . [ec] h[w?] . . . {t^co tetters) . . . ))e ; tV. sees 

0/ ec only the tipper part, o/-w(?) only two strokes. From fragment itt MS. this 

doitbtftil letter w (?) may 7aell he an r (see I/olthansett's ctiietidatioit). Dictr. (xi, 483) 

sttpplies after arypeS [hord him ofanimS] ; llolth. {Attglia xxiv, 265) [ond hnaecCS 

m]ec|3cr [o^JJ^e sijjj'an, reading xr for Sch., W. h[w?]. Th. ileiS; Th. ttote x\f^. 

Th. marks gap after unsodene; Gn. assttmes no gap ; Sch. eac . . ., the rest of the 

liite is missiitg : W. (so I) sees after c an \(?)-strohe ; B. M. gives nearly all of 1 ; 

Ilollh. I.e. regards iteS unsodene as secotid hemistich ; httt Ilolth. (^E.S. xxxvii, 

210) reads: r , , 1. r n -ii 

' [ond mjec hr[a]|)e si)>l'aii 

ite'5 unsodene eac [swa some] 

/prefer this placiin^ of words to IV.'s , ^ ^ 

•^ -^ ec h[\v] . . . 

)>e siH>an iteS unsodene eac . . . 

I'itt the \fragment in MS. rtiles ottt swa some. 

78 Omitted by Th., Gn. i MS. ttot Ofl {JV.), hut clearly Oft (T.). Sch. abotit 
t-iLietttyfotir letters are missing after flodas. — 2 Holth. (^Anglia xxiv, 265) supplies 
[le]as, perhaps ar-, eSel-, ellen-leas. MS. (JV.) cyn; clearly cynn (7".). After ond 
Sch. notes a gap of some twettty-six letters ; Holth. sttpplies [sacan]. — 3 Ilolth. con- 
jectures [h]yde me to mos[e]. With tity reading compare And. 27. After mos 
about twenty-six letters are lacking (Sch^. — 4 After him a gap of some tzvetityfour 
letters {Sch.). — 5 IV. states that al is very indistinct. Instead of z\ I read faintly 
an (B.M. m or n). Sch. records after gesaet a lacttita of some sixteen letters. — 

6 Sch. reads rote ; W. flote, and rightly notes that of i the tipper cross-stroke is 
lacking, and that of 1 only the lo7ver part is visible. Ilolth. sttpplies [on] flote. — 

7 Sch. states that after or)>onc some five letters are missing ; JV. reads ofy\> only the 
laiver part (so B. M. and I). 



54 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

79 (Gn. 77) 

Ic eom a:]>elinges itht oiul willa. 

80 ^Gn. 78) 

Ic eom ce)»elinges eaxlgestealla, 

fyrdrinces gefara, frean minum leof, 

cyninges geselda. Cwen mec hwTlum 

hwTtlocceilu bond on legecS. 

eorles dohtor, I'eah hio a?|'elu sy. 5 

Hxbbe me on bosme j'aet on bearwe geweox. 

Hwilum ic on wloncum wicge ride 

herges on ende ; heard is min tunge. 

Oft ic woiSboran wordleana sum 

ag)'fe cefter giedde. Good is min wise 10 

ond ic sylfa salo. Saga hwa^t ic hatte. 

81 (Gn. 79) 

[Ic eom /m/s,v<//'/vw/, belcedsweora, [i-T*^] 

heafod h;>?bbe ond heane steort, 

eagan ond earan ond senne foot, 

hrycg ond heard nebb, hneccan steapne 

ond sidan twa, j\7^"-[<;/] on middum, 5 

eard ofer sldum. Aglac dreoge 

I'ier mec wegetS se )'e wudu hrereS, 

ond mec stondende streamas beataJS, 

haegl se hearda ond hrim |'ece^ 

[ond fjorst [^/i ryvsccf ond feallecS snaw 10 

80 2 E/frn. gefera. — 4 Ettm. lecge^. — 5 Ettni., Gii. si. — 10 Etim., Gn. agiefe. 
Gn., Tr. God. — 1 1 Ettm. silfa. 

81 I MS., Ed J. byledbreost. — 3 Gn. fot. — 5 MS., Edd. sag; Tli. note sac 
('<7 sack'y. Gn. middan. — 7 Sici'. {PBB. x, 520) wxgeS. MS. hrereii; Th., Gn. 
hrepe■^"; Gn. note hrere'S.' — 10 TV/, [lece'ei . . . ond fealleJS; Gn. g-iz'es no ga/' after 
hecelS, but su/>//ies after snaw [for'ii ofer mec] ; Sch. reads J'ecet5 . . . (nine letters) 
. . . elS; IV. reads as third and fourth letters, rs, and as the last, s; Holth. (Bh. ix, 
35S) supplies as first hemistich [fo]rs[t] [gera^]se■^". I read after rs the top oft 
very clearly and eo quite distinctly before seS. B. M. reads orst . . . eoselS. 



KlDDl.KS OF 'nil': KXKTKR BOOK 55 

[on] |>yiel\vunibne ond ic ])ajt .... 
n ma^t [wonjsceaft mine. 

82 
Wiht is 

• • • [g]ongende grcate swilgeS 

. . . [fjcll nc flffisc, fotum gong . . 

5 

. e(S sceal niaila gehwam 

83 (Gn. 80) 
Frod w?es min fromcynn, [h?efde fela wintra] 
biden in burgum, si|)|'an bSles weard 
wera lige bewunden, 

II Holth. I.e. supplies on before )>yrel. After )'?ct Sch. notes twenty-eight or 
tiventy-nine missing letters. — 12 Tli. . . . eaft ; Gn. [scjeaft ; Sch. ceaft ; W. 
[sjceaft. Before sceaft / read Z'ery clearly ma;t — followed by three very faint let- 
ters, perhaps won (?) B.M. reads n ma't . . . sceaft. Dietr. (xi, 483) supplies 

[I'olige eall], 
[ne wepe ic aefre wonnscjeaft mine. 

82 Omitted by Th.{C,H.). i .9<7/. T(?) . nd ; Tr. Wiht. Only tail of v; and \\V are 
visible to me. B. Af. reads a part of the lower curve ofyi, then \\\t, followed by is, 
not seen by Sch., IV., or by me. Then a gap of some twenty-tivo letters (Sch.). — 
2 Sch. o(?)ngende ; IV. {so /) o is still clearly visible; Holth. (Anglia xxiv, 265) 
[gjongende. After s\viige6" some twenty-four letters are missitig (Sch.). — 4 Sch., 
IV., and I read 11 ; Holth. I.e. [fe]ll ; B. M. ell. Sch. g . . . g ; W. reads still gong, 
so do / ; Holth. supplies gong[e'5]. Then follows a lacuim of some thirty-six letters 
(Sch^. — 6 Before sceal and at end of line, B.M. reads e^, not visible to Sch., IV., 
and to me. Sc7i. reads gehwa ; IV., T, and B. I\I. gehwam. The rest of this last line 
of the riddle is missing (Sch.). 

83 I 77/. from-cy[nn] ; 77/. «o/(? frum-cynn .' 6'«. fromc[ynn] ; 6'f//. fromcy, ^//^-w 
a gap of eighteen letters; IV. (so I) reads, after y, n and an n-strohe. Gn. supplies 
haefde fela wintra. — 2, 3 Between brcles and wera, Th. gives a gap of over tioo 
half -lines, Gn. of more than a whole line, thus gi%>ing fifteen lines to the riddle. Sch. 
'baeles [weorc? only the remnants ofvi'f e? o or 2^., and r remain], between bjeles 
and wera about ten letters are 7oanting\; IV. (so B.M. and I) reads baeles weard. 
In MS. ten letters are missing after weard. Holth. (Anglia xxiv, 265) supplies 

si|)|>an [mec] bx'les weard 
[hafde leodjwera lige bewunden 

After weard, B. M. reads the hnoer part of three letters, perhaps on and d ? certainly 
not hx-fde. MS., Edd. life. 



56 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

fyre gefSlsad. Nu me fah waraS 

eor])an broj'or, se me aerest wearS 5 

gumena to gyrne. Ic ful gearwe gemon 

hwa min fromcynn fruman agette 

call of earde ; ic him ylle ne mot, 

ac ic hieft\_e'\nyd hwilum arare 

wide geond wongas. Ha^bbe ic wundra fela, 10 

middangeardes msegen unlytel, 

ac ic mi|'an sceal monna gehwylcum 

degolfulne dom dyran craeftes, 

slSfa?t minne. Saga hwxt ic hatte. 

84 (Gn. 81) 

An wiht is [on eor))an] wundnim acenned, 

hreoh end repe, hafa?i ryne|strongne, [128*] 

grimme grymetacS end be grunde fareS. 

Mrxior is monigra mSrra wihta. 

FcEger ferende fundacS i^fre ; 5 

neol is nearograp. NSnig ol)rum maeg 

wlite onil wisan wordiim gecyj'an 

hu mislic bij» ma:;gen l>ara cynna, 

fyrn for^gesceaft ; fa^der ealle bewat, 

or ond ende, swylce an sunn, 10 

miere meotudes beam, l>urh [his meahta sp]ed 

4 d in gef>rls;iil is altered from li. Th. war . . .; Gn. \vaI■[a■^'] ; Gn!- \var[naN], 
*upon ivhich the ace. eoriSan depends'' ; Sch. wara. ; //'. (so />. J/.) reads after a the 
lower part of a d or S. — 6 Gn. Ne for Ic. — 7 Th. note frumcynn ? — 9 MS.., 
Th. on hneftnyd; Gn., W. hivftnyd. 7Vi. note adnvfe. — 10 .US., 77/. wunda; (/;/., 
Dietr. (xi, 4S4), //'. wundra. 

84 I MS., Edd. An wiht is; Herzf. (p. 70) an wraetlicu wiht or Is an wiht, etc.; 
Billbring {Litt.-Bl. xii, 156) is [on eor'San] {</. 51I). MS. acenneS. — 2 Gn. note 
reoh ? — 3 Th. faraS ; in MS. a is altered to e ( IV.). — 6 Gn.^ zwd for is. — 9 Gn. 
note frod fyrngesceaft ? — n After hurh, Sch. notes gap of some twelve letters. At 
end of line B. M. reads ed, not seen *r Sch., IF., or by me. This supports Greiri's 
addition [his mihta sped]. 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 57 

ond |>a:t liyhste mSst . . )'es tx . . . 

dyre craeft 

onne hy aweorp 

o])e £Enig )>ara ... 15 

far ne mseg 

6))er cynn eorj'an ])on £er waes 

wlitig ond wynsum 

Bi)) sio moddor maegene eacen, 20 

wundrum bevvre)'ed, wistiim gehladen, 

hordum gehroden, hnslel'iim dyre. 

Msegen biS gemiclad, meaht gesweotlad ; 

wlite bij' geweorpad wuldornyttingum, 

wynsum wuldorgimm wloncum getenge, 25 

clsengeorn biS ond cystig, crsefte eacen ; 

hio bi)» eadgum leof, earmum geteese, 

12-19 Between mas . . . and asr wass (i8) Thorpe assumes a gap of three heini- 
stichs and a part of a fourth ; according to Th., 7vhat follozvs ms: . . . is apparently 
part of another enigma; Gn. supplies ma; [gen haliges gasstes], and gives, after a 
lacuna, asr waes as close of next line (13). Gn. note l^asr waes wlitig ? For Gn.''s gap 
(13), Dietr. (xi, 484) supplies [he ofer hire hreone hrycg] aer wass ; and after wyn- 
sum, [wide boren]. Sch. and J'ast hyhste mce . . . (five letters') . . . has ? {judging 
from fragments') gas . . . (about eighteen letters) ; . . . dyre craeft . . . (about twenty-three 
letters) . . . onne hy aweorp . . . (about twenty-three letters) . . . J'e [B.A/. o\>e] aenig 
l>ara . . . (about twenty-three letters) . . .: f[o]r ne ma?g . . . (about twenty-seven letters) 
. . . ober cynn eor^an . . . (about fifteen letters) . . . [l']on a;r wass wlitig ond wynsum 
. . . (eight letters). Sch. declares that the absence of a beginning capital and of a 
closing-sign disprove Th.'s vieru of a new enigma. After mas (12) I read the top of 
st (B. M. s), certainly not a g as Gn. suggests, then three missing letters, then the 
top of J^es, follotoed by tae (not gas, Sch., IV.) ; B. M. reads es tae. IV. reads of\>QS, 
(12) only the upper part. Like IV., I see between f and r (16) the bottom of an a; 
B. M. reads plainly far. W. and I see still the \> of \>oxi (18). — 20 Th., Gn. seo. 
Th. modor. — 21 Th. [gejwre^ed; G71. wreSed ; Sch. [be]greh>ed, basing his con- 
jecture on fragments of two letters in A/S. : IV. (so B.AI. and I) reads the lotcer 
part of he and then wrehed (w qiiite clearly). Ilolth. (E. S. xxxvii, 210) 

bewre|)ed wundrum, wistum gehlssted, 

gehroden hordum. 

— 24, 25 Th. note wundor? — 25 Gn. note wolcnum ? — 27 MS. earmuge tasse; 
Th. earmunge txse ; Gn., IV. as in text. 



5S . RiDDi.i's {)V iiii': I'.xi'/ri'.K hook 

frcolic, scllic, liDinasl oiul s\vi|)ust, 

gifrost oikI giSdgost grunelbedd tridcp, 

jnvs Jie under lyfte alodeii wurde 30 

ond ii'ldu beam cagum sawe 

(sua |>;vt wuldor 7i>//(i, \\H)ildl)carna nuv-ge,) 

I'Oah |>o fei|>um glcaw [gcfiigen h;vl>be] 

mon im)dc|sn(ittor mcngo wundra. [128''] 

1 Inisaii bi(S hraidra, ha'k'|nini frodia, 35 

gcH)fuin bi(S gcaiina, gimmuin deona, 

woruldc \vlitiga(N, \va?stmuin tycheJS, 

firene dwSsceiS 

oft utan be\veoipo(S ame l>C(onc, 

wimdrum gowlitogad, geond werl'code 40 

J)a."l watuviN wcras oler ci)t|'an, 

yxt magon micle s(-cafte 

bi|' stanum bestrcpctl, stoimuni 

len . . . . tiinlircd woall 

l>ivin cd 45 

liiiisan hnnciS h 

e genge oft 

cS J/S., Ilolth. {E.S. xxxvii, 210) fromast ; lu/J. frommast. — 31 Gn. oS-fJe/'r 
ond. — ■ 32 MS., Eiid. wifeii; 77/. wuldor-wife'X ('x'/i>r/<>/is ■n'oniun'); Gn. note 
'wundor? 7;v7 wafian, (7//.fA///«<r;/ .^' Spr. n, 746 wuldor ('</(//.i') ; if. Dictr. (xi, 
485). MS., Tit. nicXge ; Gn., W. mcegen. — 33 -^■<^v.'/' "' .US.; Th. ' Ih-re a line is 
-.oiuitin!^'; Gn. su/>/>/ies as in te.xt. — 34 Sie-'. {PI^H. x, 50S) snotor. — 36 MS. {II'.) 
bil>, e/eiir/v ( 71) biM. Gn. .tn/Z/ies bi■^' n/'/er gimmum. — 38 .Vc ^i,'<?/ //' -'/^". ; 77/. 
s/ii/es that a line if '•.vantint^ ; Dietr. (xi, 4S6) supplies [hi fiea diihten]. — 42 (///. 
note m;vgen for nia^nn ? Th., Gn. micle . . . bil'i Sell, micle . . . (thirteen to 
fourteen letter.^) . . . [ste] bi)-; //'. {so T.) reiuls he/ore bil>. eafte ; T.M. sceafte ; 
//()////. {.l ni^'liit xxiv, 2(15) supplies [ma meotudgescjeafte. — 43 77/. note bestie\ved(?). 
After stormum, 77/. iiniieates laeuna to elose of ritlille ; Gn. supplies [bediifen], 
then gap to elose: Seh. stormum . . . {thirty to thirty-one letters) . . . tiinbred 
weall. Jiij^ht letters before timbred (44) 7 /•<■,/,/ len {B.M. les). — 44-46 After 
weall, Seh. marks thirty viissing letters, then d hiusan; Ilolth. I.e. assigns . . . ed 
to end o/' Hue 4^\ II'. to I. 46; IV. reads l>rym and ed hrusan ; so do I elearly. 
— 46-47 Seh. hrlncl" 1> (//'. h) . . . {about hoenty-seven letters) . . . [n]ge oft 
sear\vu[m] ; //'. genge; 7>. .1/. e genge. 



KIDDI.ICS OF THK EXF.'ri':R HOOK 59 

searwum 

(IcaiSc ne feleS, 

I'^'^ih I'c .50 

• • . du hicicn hiif uuiidigen 

risse hord. 

Word onhlid h;vle|mni g . . . . 
uicoh, worduiii gcopena 
hu mislic sy in;v^gen |)ara cy[nna]. 55 

85 (Gn.82) 
Nis mill sele swige nc ic sylfa hind ; 
ynil) line \^i//>///as r/iv/c, ////("] I)riht[en] scop 
si|' ;vts()mne. Ic com swiftre ponne he, 
))ragum strengra, he |>reohtigra ; 

hwihim ic me restc, he sceal j-innan for6. 5 

Ic him ill wiinige a ))enden ic lifge ; 
gif wit unc gedffila'?), me l)i(S deaJS witod. 

48 After sear\vu[ni], about tioenty-eii^lit letters are 7)iissni!^ [Sch.). B.M. reads 

after seanvum the bottom of three letters, bil>(?) or dis{?) — ■ 49 Sch. [dJea'Se ; IV. 

dea'Se ; I see top of d. — 50-51 Sch. reads |>eah . . . (about ttoeiity-six letters') . . . 

du (^"u?); IV. reads I'eah |'e (/;/(/ du ; so do />'.,)/. (///,/ I clearly. — 51-52 After 

wun . . g (//'. wundig, B.M. wundigen )> ? or \v ?) about twenty-one letters are 

missing (Sch^. — 53 Sch. ha2[lel'um?] ; IV. and B. M. {clearly) haelejjum g . . . ; 

I see lower part tj/" lehum, then bottom of g. — 54 lief ore wreoh about ffteen letters 

are missing {Sch.). Sch. ge opena. — 51-54 d/o/th. {Anglia xxiv, 265) supplies as 

folloivs : 

[heafjdu hrercii, hrif wuiulig[en] 

[cneojrisse. 

Hord word[;i] onhlid, li;eIe|)Uin g[eswutela], 

[wisdom onjwreoh. 

Ju>r wisdom, IFolth. conjectures also waerfasst or word-hord. — 55 Only some tivo or 
three letters can be missing in this line {Sch^ ; Ilolth. I. c. supplies [cynna] by aid of 
line 8. (^/cynna I see clearly c a7id end of tail ofy, iwerlooked by Sch., IV. ; B. M. cy. 
85 I Th. note ?,€i for gesel {^comrade'') ? — 2 N^o gap itt MS. after ymb {Th.)\ 
Gu., IV. note omission in sense, but fail to mark gap in text; Holth. {I. F. iv, 388) 
supplies [droht minne]. After unc, I mark in the MS. a gap of nine or more letters 
and supply as in text. The lacuna is duly recorded by B. M. MS. driht ; Th. 
dryht ; Gn. dryhten ; W. drihten. Th. indicates gap after scop. — 3 MS. swistre ; 
Th. swiftra; Gn., IV. swiftre. — 5 A/S., Pldd. yrnan. 



60 RIDDLES OF THK EXETER BOOK 

86 (Gn. 83) 

^\'iht cwom gongan ]>xr weras steton 

monige on mceMe mode snottre ; 

ha^fde an eage ond earan twa 

ond twC'gen fet, twelf hand heafda, 

hryc[g] ond wombe ond honda twa, 5 

[earmas ond eaxle, anne swcoran [i^Q'"*] 

ond sidan twa. ^aga hwirt ic hatte. 

87 (Gn. 84) 

Ic seah wundorlice wihl, wombe ha;fde mirle 
|)ry))um gej'rungne ; |>egn folgade 
ma;genstrong ond mundrof ; micel me |mhte 
godlic gumrinc, grap on sona 

heofones tol)e 5 

bleow on eage ; hio borcade, 
7oaiiO(/t- wilhim. Hio wolde se |)eah 
mol 

86 4 MS., Edd. except FMm. 11, xii. — 5 MS., Tli., Ettm. hryc. Ettni. handa. 

87 3 MS. megenstrong ; Th., Gn. masgnstrong. — 4-5 Ifolth. [E.S. xxxvii, 210) 

gr.ipon (i/a/. /•/.) sona 
lieof on his to|iL'. 

— ^ A'o j,'ii/> in M.S., Til.; Gn., ]V. indicate missing Itemistich. — 6 MS., Edd. 
bleowe ; Gn. note bleow (?) bleaw(?) MS. boncade, Edd. as in text. — 7 MS., IV. 
wancode ; T/i., Gn. )>ancode. — S Sc/i., W. mol ; B. M. niol. T/ie 7i>ord is not giren 
by Th. {Gn.). After mol abont fourteen letters are missing {Sc/i.). 

88 I- 1 2 T/t., Gn. read Ic weox I'rcr ic . . . (tlirce missing /lemistic/is) ... (1. 3) 
ond sumor ...{<? little more than one hemistich) . . . {Gn. 4, li\ 12) ac ip uplong. 
Sch.: Ic weox I'a-r ic . . . {about thirty-four letters) . . . ond sumor mi . . . {about 
thirty letters) . . . me was min tin . . . {about thirty-three letters) . . . d ic on sta^'[ol] 
. . . {about twenty-eight letters) . . . um geong swa . . . {about tioenty-sercn letters) 
. . . se weana oft geond . . . {about tiventy letters) . . . [f]geaf. 

JV. {so I) reads s (1. i), the upper part of o\ (1. 7), and the lower part of i (1. 1 1). 
B.M. reads (1. 7) od (7//(/ sta'Sol, and se heana (1. 10). 

Holth. {Anglia xxiv, 266) supplies s[tod] (1. i), [wintrjimi geong (1. 8), and 
[o]fgeaf (1. 11); Holth. {Bb. ix, 358) supplies tin[trega] (1. 5); I/olth. {E.S. xxxvii, 
210) supplies [sto]d (1. 7). 



RIDDLKS OF THE EXETER BOOK 6l 

88 (Gn. 85) 
Ic weox I'sBr ic s 

oncl sumor mi 



me wa^s min tin 



[stjod ic on sta(Sol[e] 
um geong swa 



se )»eana oft geond 10 

[ojfgeaf, 

ac ic uplong stod |»ar.ic .... 

ond broj'or mIn, begen wjeron hearde. 

Eard waes J'y vveorSra ))e wit on stodan, 

hyrstum |)y hyrra; ful oft unc holt wrugon, 15 

wudubeama helm, wonnum nihtum, 

scildon wis scurum ; unc gescop meotud. 

Nu unc mteran twam magas uncre 

sculon aefter cuman, eard ofij'ringan 

gingran brojjor. Eom ic gumcynnes 20 

anga ofer eorpan ; is min [agen] baec 

wonn ond wundorlic. Ic on wuda stonde 

bordes on ende ; nis min broj'or her, 

ac ic sceal bro))orleas bordes on ende 

stajiol weardian, stondan faiste ; 25 

I 2 After ic about eiff/it letters are misshii:;' [Sc/t.). />'. M. reads before ond tfie tail 
of a y. — 13 AfS., Tk., B.M. mine bro^or; Gn., W. min brohor; Ifolth. {Bb. ix, 358) 
'brot>or min, perhaps the mine of the MS. stands for minne, as in I. 12 a transitive 
verb may be missins^^ — \\ W. (so /) sees only the louver part of\>y. B.M. gives 
all but the upper stroke. — 18 Gn. magas; Gn?' magas. — 20 Th. begins a ne-u> 
riddle 7vith Eom, although in the M.S. there is not ex'en a period after bro^or (AF!). 
— 21 Gn. anga ; Gn. note anga (?) Sie-'. (PBB. x, 520) attacks is min base on metrical 
grounds ; I/olth. {/.F. iv, 388) supplies as in text. — 25 MS., Th. stodan; Th. note, 
Gn., ly. stondan. 



62 KIDDLKS OF THE KXKTKR HOOK 

ne wat hwivi" mm bio|>ov on weia ithtum 

eor|>an srcata j eanlian sceal, [129''] 

se mc ivi" be healfe hcah eaitlaile. 

Wit wxYon gesome sa?cce to fremmanne ; 

nitfre unrer a\vl)er his ellen cyJSde, 30 

swa wit I'ivre beadwe begen ne on|'ungan. 

Nu mee misceafta innan slitacS, 

wyida]) mec be wombe ; ic gewendan ne mreg ; 

ret t'Sm spore limleiS sjjed se |'e se[ce^] 

sawle rSdes. 35 

8q 

e wilit \\x)mbe ha^fd . 

tne lel're wa^s 

beg on liindan 

grette wca worhte, 5 

hwilum eft I'vgan, 

liim l>oncaile si|>]'an 

swivsendum swylee ]>rage. 

26 Ilcrzf. (p. 4S) brnl'or niin. — -9> jO MS., //'. fremman ne nxfre ; Th., Gn. 
fremmanne I ne nxf re ; Th. note 'ne seems a repetition fiotn the 'iOord preceding:;' : 
Siev. {PBP. x, 4S2) fremmanne. — 31 Th. wa^re {/ni.fprint). Th. note on)>rungon. 
— 32 Th. hu ; Th. note nu. — 33 Th. '■after wombe, <? gap of nearly tivo hemistichs : 
at end of second half-line ne ma-g' ; Gn. wombe [ic warnian] ne m;vg ; W. (so P. M. 
and / elearly) reads after wombe, ic gewendan ne mag. — 34, 35 Th. reads sped 
se )>e se, then gap to clo.fe ; Gn. supplies se[ce^"], then no gap : JT. (so B. M.) notes 
after se (-ohieh is at end of line) some t'welre ( T. fifteen) missing letters, on ne.vt 
line then sawle rxdes, /ollo7c>ed hv closing sign : 7 

89 Omitted I'v Th. (Gn.), and not gi^'en I'v Sch. W. thus reads the MS.: 
1, 2 Before wiht some thirty letters are lacking, wombe is at end of line. After 
hafd some t;c'enty-fTe letters are lacking. 3 Only the right side ofx in re is visible. 
lehre is at end of line. 4 After beg some tioenty-tliree letters are missing, hindan 
is at end of line. 5 After wea, a lacuna of some ttoenty letters to end of line. 
worhte begins the ni-7C' line. 6 After ef, a lacuna of .tome se^'enteen letters to end 
of line. |>ygan begins the ne~o line. 7 After sihhan, a lacuna of some fifteen letters 
to end of line. S swasendum begins the ne70 line. After )'rage, a closing-sign : 7 
My readings agree ■:oith those of U'., but B.M. notes these additional letters: e before 
wiht (1. 2), tne /■<'/• re (1. 3), on before hindan (1. 4), hrwer part of t {.r<> /) after ef (1. 6). 



Kii)i)i-i:s OF 'riiK KXi'/ri'iR book 63 

90 (Gn. 86) 

Minim iiiihi videtiir : lupus ab agno tenetur; 

obcurrit agmis [lupij ct capit viscera lupi. 

Dum starem ct niirareiu, vidi gloriam jxirem : 

duo lupi stantes cl leiliuni tiil)ul[antes] 

quattuor pedes habcbant, cum septem oculis videbant. 5 

91 (Gn. 87) 

Min heafod is liomcic gt;l>ruen, 

searopila wund, sworfen feole. 

Oft ic begine l)a;t me ongean sticalS, 

I'oniie ic hnilan sccal hringum gyrdcd 

hearde wiiS hcanbini, hiiidan )'yrcl 5 

forS asc:ul'an )>a't frcan mines 

modp* freo|)a(S middehiihtum. 

Ilwihini ic under b;cc bregdejnebbe [ij"'^] 

hyrde jws hordes, j>oniie mui hlaford wile 

lafe |)icgan J'ara J)e he of life het 10 

wnelcraefte awrecan willum sinum. 

go MS., T/i., Gn. ha-.-e tliroiighoiit u fo7- v. i MS., ihi., JT. videtur milii ; T//. 
t/(>/d, Ilolth. {/'J.S. xxxvii, 211), a.f in text. — 2 W. slates that rr /// obcurrit is no 
longer visible ; Holth. supplies rupi. — 3 ^[S. misare {Sell., \V., T.)\ Edd. mirarem. 
MS., Th. magnan; Gn., IV. magnam ; //o/tl/. parem. — 4 JAS'., Tli., Holth. diii; 
Ow. Dui (=<//■// tv-.f/). Con. tx for ci. MS. U\\n\\, no ,i;ap ; Th. trihul[aiiles]. — 
5 MS., Edd. nil. Con. occulis ('/A/ MS."). 

91 I iJ/.S'., Edd. gel'uren ; Spr. i, 474 geKuen (?) so also Sie7'. (/'/>/>'. x, 265). — 
2 7//. note pile ? — 3 7'h. note Ijegrine. Sie?'. {Anglia xiii, 4) stice'N. — 6 MS., Edd. 
mines frean; Ilerzf. (p. 46) frean mines. — 7 Spr. ii, 2(11, Dietr. (xi, 486) p* = 
wen ; Sie7\ {Anglia xiii, 4) F* = wynn. — S Ifoltli. (f.. S. xxxvii, 211) 

Hwilum ic under ba-c bregcle [hruiirc or bcorhtre or blacre] nebbe. 

— II MS. waelcraif ; Eh. supplies turn; (///. \va.lcr;v;ft ; Seh. 'wa;Icrx'ft[e] seems to 
/tare stood in the MS.; there loould he no room for vva;lcracftuni'; IV. states that 
't7ao or three letters are missing after f ; l>ut cannot say xvhether they ha^r become 
effaced by time or erased by a liquid^ {olwiously, by action of fluid on ink, T.). 
'Sch. to the contrary, these letters might have been tu' {JV.). SicT. {Anglia xiii, 4) 
waelcrasfte ; B. M. reads clearly wailcrx-f te. 



(34 RIDDLKS OV I'lIK i:Xi:iKK lU)OK 

92 

Ic \v;rs biunra hcot. Warn on holto, 

freolic feorhbora oiul foldaii \v;vstni, 

[r'//(/] wynnstal'ol oml wites soml, 

gold on geanlum. Nu eoni gU(N\vigan 

hyhtlu- liililowitpcn, hringc bete 5 

. . . wel 

bvrciS on o|'iuni 

93 (Gn. 88) 

Frea min 

de willnm smuni 

heah ond h\ lu . ... [scjearpne 

hwiluiii 

[hjwiluni sohto fica ... as wod 5 

92 OviitttJ by Til. (c/;/.). i //,vV'/. {/;. .S". .\xxvii, 211) brunna. — 3 /1/.S'. wym 
stiil'ol ; Uolth. t^I^h. i.x. 35S) stiit'ol weies ; //,-////. (/•'. .S". xx.wii. z\\) wynn on stal'ole. 
— 4 //<>////. Li. god/(';- gold. — 5 //'. n-ads only the upper part <>/ilde ; j(> /.- B.M. 
elearlv hilde. MS. {Se/t., 11'., and /) bete ; MS. (/>\ .1/.) bega. Sch. states that after 
bete hi'entv-seveti letters are missinx. — 6 i*?. J/, reads the top of wel, nine letters 
after bega. — 7 //'. uotes that byretS /><<■■'/'■<• the f/e:c line. It is impossible to determine 
hiKV manv letters are rnissinc after o)'riim ; on this line stand no longer any letters (f f '). 

93 1-5 7'//. reads 

Fiv.i mill . . 

wod. 

(,";/. note, conjectures 

I'ro.i mill [iiU'C f.vsto Ii0,u]\vod. 

Fre.i mill [wxs f.vgio for.ui j;ofi;rt]\vod. 

vV<7/. Frea mi[n] . . . (i:oc>!tv-sc:cu letters) . . . de willmn sinum (/i..M. sinu) . . . 
{t7oenty-si.v letters) . . . ho.ili oiul [hyht] . . . {t'wenty letters) . . . [sce]arpne hwilum 

. (t-wentvt'oo letters) . . . [hwJiUini sohte frea . . . {se~enteen letters) ... as wod. 
;/: reads still the first .ftrohe of n (i), so F. .1/. and I: the upper part c/hyht (3). 
so />. ^f. and I : remnants of&c (3) ; w /// hwilum (5) ; and the hy:oer part o/as (5). 
VViere is //<►:.' in .lAV. no trace of sc (3). only the bottom of e and half 0/ a, then, 
clearly, vpne (A\.l/. earpno). //olth. (.Inglia xxiv, jOs) supplus (1. 3) 
he.ili Olid hyht[ful or lie? liocum] sc[e]arpne. 

i\ 1^) [h]\vihiiii soliti' fvo.x [mill] 

.IS wod. 

as /«/>'./ be the remains <ysilMS, widlastas, or wr.vclastas (<;A Spr. ii, 6;},6). 



i<:ii)i)i,i:s oi' rill'. i:.\i;ii;k p.ook 65 

(l;i\t;iinu' iiod (Kt)| pc slu'Jamas, 

hwiliim stc.iK lili|'ti sti^aii scroldi' 

up m c\>v\, Inviiiim ell gcwal 

in (U'i)|i ilalii (Iiil:ii|ic sccan 

stiont; on sta'pc ; staiiwoiij^as grol lO 

luiniij;lic;ii(U\ hwilimi haia scoc 

foist (il l(M\i'. Ir ('// lusiiin lad, 

i)|>|>;vl liim I'oiu' i;li()usti)l j^iii^ia l>r()|H)r 

mm af;na<li' oiid mcc of cardc adraf. 

Si|i|iaii iiu'c \>c\\\ imiaiiwcaidiu' Ig 

In im lnMiiiadc ; Mod iil nc < , nn, 

hcolfor of lm'|>H', |nali mcr IumkI hilr 

stiJSecg style. No ic |'a stimdc licmcaiii, 

IK' for wimdr wrop, \\c wrcu an mcahte 

on wigan fcoic wonnst cafl mine, 20 

ac icjaglaica callc |>oligc [1. ><>''! 

)>a;tte l)oi(l hiton. Nu ic lA.uv swclgc 

wuda ond wa'trc, \voml)| c ) bi'la'JSine 

|>a"t Mice on fcaIlf(N ufan |i;vr ic slondo, 

c'oip[t"]s natliwa'l, Iia'I)I)c annc fot. 25 

Nu nun hord waraJS Iiiju-ndc fcond, 

sc !'(.' ivr wide baT wulfes grhlc|ian ; 

olt mc ol \voml)C hrwadcn fciC(N, 

6 TV/., Gf/. deo . . . Inviliim ; .S<7/. rt:(i</s cleo[pt; stieanKis?| ; //'. /i-tii/s the hmier 
part (f/'amas; .re />'. M. diiJ /. — 7 7'//. .slcak-hlijio. — <; 7//. clo()i)-(lahi. — i i A/S. 
hara scoc; .S/; . ii, i.| 'liar ascoc ? (t'.v'A /''"i;: liinry-frost).'' ~ ij ,I/.S'. fi-ax. ,1/.S'., 
7'.'(/(/. of. — I 5 .)/.V., 7'//. gloavvstol. MS., 7'//. giiij^ran ; 7//. //('/<,■ gingra. — 21 'I'll. 
t- . . . l)<>r(l; Cti. |.;vt hord; Sch. jwlle; .MS. {II'.) JMi' (//'. (/(V.r f/ot .stY tin I, nor 
do /); li.M. l-ini'. .MS. hlace; C'//., .S/r. i, ij.] l)!ruc: Sici'. {PUn. ,x, .\f)«) Mac. 
— 23 Th. wa'tif . . . hffa'iNnie; (.',11. .uif'plus |\vicU'|; S,li. rciuis woiuhlc ?] ; //'. 
reads only w . . . hcfa'iNnie ; 7 read \v . . . h Tcry ea.\//y (/>'. A/, womb). 25 7V/., 
Gn. eo . . . ; Jhelr. (xi, 4.S7) eo[rpes] .> Stii. reads eo . . . e.s .' //'. only eo . . . s. 
Tlie Itnoer strokes of r and p are plainly ■7>isihlc to me. />'. .]/. reads cof w;vs. — 
2(1 Th. note weraS.' Dietr. (xi, 487) liordwaratN. - - jS 7'//., Gn. ... of \v<)ml)e ; 
Ihetr. I.e. supplies [won.sceaft] ; .SV7/. (.i/.r letters) ... of wonihc ; llo/tli. (/. /•; iv, 
3S8) supplies [wealic]. He/ore of wombe f read faintly hut uni/iiesliona/'/v nic, pre- 
eeded by the top o/oh (A'. A/, oft nie). Vhe.u- letters are not .u-en ly SJi., ]!'. 



o6 Ki i)i)i,i;s o\- rill', i:.\i ii: r wook 

sU'piHN^ on sli(S l)oul 

do . . |Mmu' i1;v-l;ioiu1oI 30 

sunnc 

[\v]corc cMiiuin wlitci"^ i>iul sp . . . 

94 
Sini|' ad 

hvno I'lHiiu' liroKm 

die I'onnc sumie, 

stylo 

Miu'.iro I'onno st'.ill sv 5 

UotVc I'oiinc |>is Iroht call, U'uhtii" |Mnno \v . , 

29-32 yVt. ri\i,/s 

^ti'piHiN on sti,N boiil 

. . . il.i'i; loiulol 



■.ij;um \vlit,\ is 



stfi'iH'iN »i\ sti\N luMil 

il.i-i;\(uuli~l simno . 

iMj^iim wlit.iiN 

y>i,/r. (xi. .jS;) siz/'/^/k-s 

stopiH'^ »i\ stivMnmi, [storino Kvltik'n] 
[si^vNan ho] iliVSCOndel[U'|, sim[n.ui uihviuo] 
[;viost iMlra] I'agum wlilOvN. 

Si/i. /Vi/./.i- bold . . . (m'//i,- hiu-nty-siTt-n /i-ttrrs) . . . n il.vgooiulol simne . . . (.fi>/«t* 

t:cffify.trrr>i Utti-rs) . . . coi\- o.iguin \vlilo\N . (/;.•<> UtUrs) . p . . . (/ u-tUri). 

A". .)/. iraJs (1. jo) do . . . (.>;> l<-ttns) . . . /.•/ </!(?). I'on. 

;;'. (.f<> />'..]/. <fW /) /r./.A- j//// I'on (30) <»//./ .i//.-> wlito.N (<v/,/ ,</ ///ic) ~\ sp (■/Z 

/'f_i,'7w/////j." <>/ //n(- :r/ T itiiiistitict). Cpon t/iis line <irc no h'lii^tr any Utters. 

Holth. {An^^lia xxiv, 26(>) ' Assniann is jcroni;' in /n/tinx^ sunne <{/?«•/• d.vgcondcl 

in /. 30.' JMt/t. teiii/s iis in text. 

94 Otnitte,/ />v Th. {O'n.). 1. 2 A'.//. Sn»[i]l' . . . (,»•.>///<• /:>r///r /<7/<-/j) . . . liyne 
I'oune hoo[fl ; W. an,/ I read Smi)' and d (A*. J/, ad) before hyire, and heofon. — 
2 .(//<■;■ heo[t]. </ t^af of some thirty-hoo letters (AV//.). — 3 //<-//■//. (.Inx/ia xxiv, 
26(1) [bliceiijdie ; (A. A", xxxvii, 211) [luwjdre. — 4 After sunne some tioentynine 
letters are missinir (AV//.). — 5 //<-////. (Anc^a xxiv, 266) sy /'/• .US., 11'. \\. After 
ly, Si>me t-roenty letters are missint;- (Se/i.). — 6 //'. reads (6-7): 

loot'iv )^>nl\l• I'is looht, 
o.iU loo)\tn' I'oiino \v . . . 



Ki i>i Ml' s ()i III I'. i:.\i;i!'. K I'.ooK 67 

05 (C^n. 8q) 

Ic ('(im inili\lilcn nnd (-(11111111 ( ihN 

(ind K'sic (ill IK nin oiid liciiiiiiu, 

l(il( 11111 gel la-^c Icic w ulc ; 

(•11(1 iiic fi{Mii(iuin ;ri 1 1 coik liiiii :.|(iii(lc(^ 

ln|'('ii(li,i li\ III, )',il II luililiaii ;>( (mI c 

lihril HI l>iii iMiiii (>|i|'c I icoi hinc (mkI. 

N'u Midi 1 1 (• iiicii s\vi|'iisl !iili,i|i 

midw isl iiimc , ic moiiij^iiin S((';il 

wisdom ( y|Mn ; 110 |';rr wdid spiccKN 

;i'liig old t'ol(^,lll. I'c.ili nil ;rld.i Ikmiii, IO 

londl)iiciidi;i, l.istns iiiiiic 

s\\ i|ic M( .1^, K s\\.i|i(' liwiliim 

iniiic licini|i(' inoiiii;i f;cli\vyl( imi. 

llollli. (.h/x'/iii xxiv, 260) r(\i;iirifs U'.'s ■t'crsc iln'ision its ohTioiislv inrorrrrt itiui 
rettiis as in liwt. S, h. i/oes not rciul \v, .ivv// hv 11'., /<'. ,1/., ,///(/ ///<•. ' // /.i iinf'i<s.\ihl,- 
to ilctermini- llu- nnnilwr <>/' ni/'.fs/ni;' Icttos d/trr \v' (II'.). Ilolth. l.i. 'w|yiiM;is| 
(,/. 41"''). ■ Ajtn- w, / read in MS. (,(yv also /I. .]/.), Ih,- loton- .slroki-.i 0/ .u-irro/ 
Utters, not yiniiis. 

95 .1 -I'/'V., 7'/i., (in., II'. IcicN; (in:\ .Sin: fi-ic.N; V/i . no/r (Cic ? .to oho /> . 
(/.'/.'. xix. 206). — .} /l/.S'., AVr/. fix-nicles ; '///. notf firm(!(; ? /.'/cc/v (A'. /■'.. /.//, j). S) 
frcmduiu; '/>•. (Aiif^/ia vi, .Inz. ifiS) snf'f^lus friMtidcs |ntrfc-;i] ;rr; /'/■. {.Inylin vii, 
Am. i\d) fienulfs [fii-tNm | .11; /'/. (A' A', xix, /od) {.vx for ww — 5 '///. notr 
hihtcndra. — 6 (in. note licoiiilc god? so olso J)ii-lr. (xi, ,iSH) nmt 'I'r. (.hir/io vi, 
Anz. 16S); /)■. (A" A', xix, 201S) gonm /!riy/it sn_t;xi'sts \)tio\\\\o (.■/ 1 liilim) /miM .■" 



NOTES 



['THE FIRST RIDDLE' 

The part played by the so-called ' First Riddle ' in the study of the authorship 
and history of this group of enigmas has already been discussed in the Intro- 
duction. Its grammatical forms will be included in the Glossary — in brackets, to 
set them apart from the vocabulary of the genuine riddles. More detailed treat- 
ment than this belongs properly to an edition of Old English Lyrics, and demands 
no place here.] 

RIDDLE 2 

Dietrich points out (XI, 461) that in 2, 3, 4, only a single subject is included, 
'the Storm.' But, as he notes, the topic finds subdivision in two ways: by the 
closing formulas of Nos. 2 and 3, and by the summary of the four phases of the 
storm's activity in 4 <':^-^^. There we are referred to its work under the earth 
(4 1-16), under the waves {3), above the waves (4 17-35), and in the air (4 36-66). 
According to Dietrich, No. 2 describes both the storm on land (2 1-8'^) and that 
at sea (2 s' -15) ; No. 3 is limited to the Ocean Storm, which in No. 4 falls into three 
parts : ' In the first the storm pictures itself as confined under the earth and 
thus producing an earthquake (4 1-16) ; then, as driver of waves and assailant of 
ships (4 17-35); finally as cloudfarer and thunderstorm.' Grein had already {Bibl. 
der ags. Poesie II, 410) interpreted No. 3 as 'Anchor' (an impossible solution), 
and No. 4 as 'Hurricane.' Prehn (pp. 158-162) accepts Dietrich's answers; and 
seeks vainly — as I think with Edmund Erlemann {^Herrigs Archiv CXI, 55) — 
to establish a relation between the Anglo-Saxon problems and the enigmas of 
Aldhelm, i, 2, and Eusebius, 21 and 23. Brooke {E. E. Lit., p. 1S2) follows 
Dietrich: — 'The first describes the storm on land, the second at sea, and the 
third the universal tempest — the living Being who rises from his caverns under 
earth and does his great business, first on the sea, then on the cliffs and ships, 
then on the land and then among the clouds, till he sinks to rest again.' Traut- 
mann classes the three riddles together and gives them one number. 

In an elaborate article in Ilerrigs Archiv CXI, 49 f., Edmund Erlemann takes 
issue with Dietrich. He believes with the earlier scholar that 4 1-16 refers to an 
earthquake, and is indeed the scientific explanation of that phenomenon, popular 
with scholars of the time. He points to Bede's account ' De Terrae Motu ' in 
his work De Xatura Reruni, cap. 49 (Migne, P. L. XC, 275 f.) : — 'Terrae motum 
vento fieri dicunt, ejus visceribus instar spongiae cavernosis inclu.so, qui hanc 
horribili tremore percurrens et evadere nitens, vario murmure concutit et se tre- 
mendo vel dehiscendo cogit effundere. Unde cava terrarum his motibus subjacent, 
utpote venti capacia ; arenosa autem et solida carent. Neque enim fiunt, nisi caelo 

69 



JO 



Ki ni)i,i:s OK 111 I'. i:\iriK hook 



lu.ii ii|nc I i.n\i|nillii, el \ ciilo in \ ch.is (ci i .ir < c unliio ' (,^ i" ' 1 1 ). 'I'll is \\ in (1 theory 
111 CM I lii|n,iki". w.is (ii.iwn. .IN I'llcMi.inn nIihwn, Iuuu IshImic nl Sr\ illc's l.iMUUis 
I ex I l>.h>K /I, ,\,;;;, ',.• A\> uii:. .mil l-, ll.l. c.lMc Ic I'l.lln. So N o. ;} 1 cpn'Scnl s nnl a 
Sc.i SliU ni lull .1 Sulini.u iuc K.ii I hc|ii.ilvc (II ; NK mii li .i^ is ilcsi i ilunl li\ Kcilc I. c. : 
' I'iunl Miiiiil I im\ It'll .!(• I no I II il imiiul.ilioiH's in.ii i^, chIiiii \ iilrHi cI s|iiMl ii in! iisi 
\rl icsiilfiilis sinu iciciili.' Ki Irin.uui tuilliri shows lli.il \o. j li.is nolliiiiL; in 
I o mm on w il l\ .) i \f. w iiii li i^ .i ilcsi npl ion ol .i ' Sloi m .il Sim,' .is 1 'it-l lii li .mil 
liiookc liclii'\c. As llic sloim is the sc iinlilu c \ |>l.in.il ion ol l.iml .iiul sf.i I'.iilh- 
i|ll.lUcs, so is il Icll lo l)f ol lliiimlfi .iml lij'Jit nin;; li\ oiii poi't (4 .;; I'l')' lli'ie 
.i!;.iin, lliinks l 1 Icni.mn, we liiul .1 i lose |i.ii.ill(l in luilc, /.S .•.) ; • Tonilin.i ilii iinl 
<-\ li.ir.oic nnlinim iM'ini.iii, i iim siiiiiliis vcntomin toiinn sinn vomriili scsr ilu 
ili-m \ fis.uulo pi'ici i.iiiirs ft \ II I III Is sii.u- nolulil.ilc in i| 11,1 mill u- 1 p.ii tcm \ iolcnifi 
n iini|iciitcs, in.iiMio lomu'ii.ml mniiniiH' iiisl.ii f\ilrnl iiini ilc st.iluilis (|ii,uli ij;.i- 
riiiu vol vrsii .ic, <ni.i<', lit d p.in.i, ni.ir.iuim t.inun soniimn ilis|)los.i I'niillil, I'tr." 
AV,/.;V<- i is simpK' .1 i;riici,il ilc-., npi ion ol llir .Sioim. 

■ Now in .ill ihis. linn- is no iliusi luuiowini'. I >illfii'iu c ol l.ini^u.i;;!- .iml tlio 
noMc Mn.i;'.ci\ ol llu' port liolli spciU sIioiim1\ .i;;.iiiisl ,m\ sruilc iiulclil ciliu'ss to 
ll\c sricnliln woiks ol his d.u. lint tlu'Sf iilc.is weir m llir .lii .il ihc lime, aiul 
lu.iv li.ivi' lu'i'ii imiulud li\ him in some i loistci si hool in ihi- Noilli iliiiin;; his 
l)i'\liooil in ihr r.iiK lii'Jilh icnliin.' 

I'llcm.inn, p. ., ), thinks lli.it !\:.i.::,-s 2 4 .ipjUMi lo \h- ' cin mil sih.iirsU-r 
Koiisrtpu'ii.' .uil;',r|i.\uli-s ( ;.in/,'s.' • Tlu- picscnl ihirt-loKI ili\ ision (( Ihmii W iilki'l) 
U'sls upon the thin' i.'p.M il ions ol the ruUllc ipusl ion .it llu- i-iul ol llicsf thiee 
p. Ills, iiiit. .iltci .ill ih.il I li.iM' s.iiil, wci;;lit i .in no loii;;ci ln' l.iiil upon tlu'm as 
sii;ns K>( ili\ ision. The luUlK- ,pici\ .ippciis .ilso w illiin 4 .it I'lul of ;s |l'iil this is 
l\ol .1 toiiniil.i|. Moi.'o\ci, ihr MS. shows no _!;.ii> iK'twcrn A'/,;'. 3 .iiul 4 |l>ut 
AV.;'. 3 liost'S llu' p.i.m'l, .mil ■;.■,'/.',■//// in 4 1 l>t-<;ins with .1 sm.ill IrtU'i. Tlu' sp.uo 
liflwi'cn -i .iiul 3 is iMsy to niuli'ist.mil : in j llu- Stoim in :;<nci.il, .iiul in 3 .mil 4 
its sin;;lr plu'iiomcn.i. .nc ilfsi iiIhiI. I'mt t\ I'li this i .m he l.iiil .it tlif siiilu-'.s 
ilooi. Misli'il l>v the lul.lK' .piriv into thinkiiii; th.it j riosi'il with lino iv lu> 
lonlil wi'll lu';;in .1 new luKlh- with '::('/,'/i»l (31V In the i .isc ol the scioiul 
/lU'h'n/'i (4 1) hi' li.is I omi' lo ii'.ilii' till' i lost- loniii'i li.m ol p. ills, .mil no longer 
luakos .1 sp.ui'.' This \i('w iloi's m>t l,i\ iliio stirss upon tin' i l.>sinL; loimiihi of 
AV.;'. 3; .mil i'lli'in.mn l.iils to si. He tli.it the l.n k ol .i ;;,ip .ilU'i 3 is ili'ti'iinineil 
by the fiulini; ol .» MS. p.ij'.f luu-. i'lu' s.imi' l.u t ni.w i'.\pl.iin the lai k of closing- 
sign, lhon;;h this st.iiuls .it rml o{ p.ige in 15. 74. .mil 80, 

•J 1 *'l. (■'■'. -'11. i'oil'on nis .inii; h.is hoisi lu- Ims hvgi'iM.iftii;. 

J 1 \\ri»M'(e')ii. Thoipe u-niliis the M.S. iculing .-,■',.,.■ •! w.uuU'i"; (ln-in in 
/'/,'>/•. 'tii'il'i',' r.iooki' (p. i.S.-l Ml'. 11 .ilong (in gnstsr; Inil these ti.insl.ilions 
would si'i'in ti> ili'n\,mil ,1 ]Mi'si'nt foim .,••.■..■ i.iihci th.m ..',.■,■■. To both these 
forms thi'ie is the stronj; ohjeolioix that the meti'i ili'ni.inils .1 long vowel here 
(' \| ' \>. Nor does lliein's inteipietion of .,',.,.• (.vm, 1 1, -J-- ; so also I!, T., 
p. \ J()S^ as the inst. sg. of :<•>,,..■/, ' hostility, " meet the ditVieultv. Sieveis (/V<'/>'. \, 
510. s.v. />'ili:) writes :i'r,7.i-, app.uentlv ileiiv ing this fioiu :,","., whieh he leg.mls 
as long ((.'••' .••(1. n. ; 1<V Ihit the vowel is shoil i'\ ei vw heie else in the poeliy 
(^.S'/V. 11, 7 5S). It is of ionise possible to legaul the h.ill line .is one oi sevei.ll 



N()i'i;s 71 

examples of a shortened A-lype _^ x | ^ X (Ileizfeld, p. ,\.\), but it is purhaiis 

l)ellt'i to road liore 7i')</i(<)<r, 'exile,' 'wretcli,' as Hcr/.fcld s\it;ni-sls. Tiu; scribe 

may have lu-cn mislfd l>v .■.•/ ,r, <• (1. j), wliicii is ahuost ininicdialely above in tiu; MS. 

2 s wild 11 lirere. Sec 81 7, \v lie re .u' /><• 7<>i/i//i //r, ■>■<■& is a periplirasis for ' I lie wind.' 

2 II wrecim. Tlu' MS. 7i';vrv;// is ri'lained by all cdilois, and is rcj^aidcd by 

Brooke as an in(inili\t', 'to ranp;c alonu,' ,ind by (iuiii {/>/,///.; S/t. II, 7^1;) .is 

^eii. sg. of 7t'';vv(i )./ 'on llic w.uidricrs liaik.' As similar consl vurlions aic 

. mnnioii in the poetry (\vi ('((.m laslr, 40 s; i f, oV//. .^lyS, 2S22, .S,;i/'. 1 5), and as 

iliis nir.ining accords well with I. ,| b, 1 pidn tlir leading of the MS. lo the snj;- 

gestion of ('osiju (/'/>'/>'. XX 11 1, i 2,S) tivc, ,//. The lailci, however, has I hi' support 

of 2b, on si'rf 7i<r,~iY\ and would be acceptable, weie ;iiiy change necessary. 

2 It Ibi'sc Olid <;;es(iis. ('f. C7ir. 597, llfesc olid gaist. 



Kl DDI.i; ;! 

I''()r |)arallels to the .\ii;;lo ,Sa,\ou desi liplion nl liie .Siv/v/w/, l''.ileniaini (p. 57) 
pninls to the MIK;. ilbisti.ilinns in the aiiit les by I'.li rismann, (.Scnnoiiia XXXV, 
5^f., and .Siever.s, /'/!/!. \', 5.|.|, width tic. it the wolds ,i,'7v/«/7('t'//t' and sclpwege. 
Cf. ll.iitniann, /. /!ii</i/tiii, 352 f.: 

. . . imd liehet sii'li fif von i^niiidi' eiii wiiit 

(las lieizrnt si selpwcge 

iiii'l iii.K liet uro/.e iiii(U'sk'j;e 

1111(1 li.it vil iiiainiL' den ti'H };cf»(-'bL'ii. 

3 : uiMler yJJii f;c|»r.e<'. ( f. 33 7, atol yha gehrac; .lin/. S23, ofer yiNa gel>r:vc. 
See also the stronger expiession, atol yha gewealc, A'.i ('(/. .155. 

33 jrjirscrgjes ki-iiimI. (f. 41 .n. 

3 3-S Krleniann (p. 51) points out the likeness of the ])henoniena heie described 
lo those that apjiear in submarine earllupiakes: ' I'inden dii'se Seebi'ben bei ge- 
ringer Meerestiefe statt, also in der Niihe der Kiiste, so zeigen sich neben den 
gewilhidichen l'"rscheintingen — Aufvvallen iiiid Tiiibung des Wassers, I'"-ni])or- 
schiessen von S( h.ium imd I ),iniprsaiilen aiuh direkte S])uren siilx i/( aiiisi her 
vnlkanisi her I '.i up! ioiieii, I'.nipoi wei Ten von Lava iiiid I'.iinsstein, x'eibiinden niit 
subinaiineiii 1 »(iiiiiei.' So the othei passaj;es of on r jx leni foibid the < oik e pi ion 
of a sea-stoini, .md .i(((ii(l with that suggested by haleniaiin. The ((Uilrast be- 
tween the two plieiKiineiia Is a( 1 ciil iiated in 4 (,s 7(1. 

34 Clrein's addition [Jloi/ il/ysc'i/'] is supported hy /hufiis (l/J'.u/i-, C/ir. <>S6, and 
Jloiliu i;i-/J\t(h\ /•'.I. 1270. — Cosijn's reading, Jiinti^e ■nu-u/oin {/'/>/>'. XXIII, 1 2S) 
parallels .In,/. 1 524, /i7////V<" loalioii (/7>V)'. XXI, 19), and is su])])orted by 4 k), 
/dmij^' 7i>in)ie&\ but the MS. reading makes i)erfect sense and is in keeping with 
the context. 

35 liWH'Iniei-e liliniiiteA. ('(. .1 //(/. T,~o, diilneied h\\,ilnieie; y)2, g.irsecg 
hlymmeiS. i'"or a discussion of rimes in the k'i, lilies, see noti; to 29. ("f. 1613, 
29 2, 4, u, ^. s, 39 .,, 42 3. 67 's 73 22. 

3''. strr'iiniaH h(ii|mi br-iitn'A'. < "f. , ///</. 230, beolon biinisl leainas ; .||l.eagor- 
streamas bcoton boiilst;v(Nu; ■Y)'^--V)^\ streaniw (dm hwih ^, Ixateh I u inisla'iNo ; 



72 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

see also And. 15.(4) -^V. 238 Met. 615. Herzfeld, who cites these parallels (p. 30), 
regards as characteristic of Cynewulf ' the constantly recurring mention of the 
striking of the waves on the cliffs or on the sides of the ship.' Herzfeld notes 
that this trait is lacking in other Anglo-Saxon descriptions of storms — Gen. 1371, 
Exod. 454 f., and Bam'. 1374. But he finds similar expressions in Seaf. 23 and 
Wand. loi. Brooke notes (p. 182, n.) that a similar passage occurs in Clir. 979 f., 
describing the cliffs withstanding the waves. — With streumas beata& cf. 81 S. 

37 on st«'al(' hleo]7a. Cf. 42(1, stealc stanhleot'u ; 937, stealc hli)'o ; l-Secnv. 
1410, slcap stanhliiNo ; And. 1577, stanhleoSu. For a discussion of such expres- 
sions, see Merbach, Das Aleer etc., p. 21. 

38 AViire ond -wa'ge. Dietrich (XII, 246) translates 'schlamm und woge,' and 
refers to And. 269, ivicre beivrecene., and And. 487, lOicre besleindoti; but in these 
passages ivicre has the meaning 'sea.' Dietrich regards ware as a rare word, which 
here means neither 'sea' {li'er) nor alga (41 49, 7C'dro&), but 'schlamm und meeres- 
sand (cf. I//^t. Gl. 502, 76, sablonum, lodra; 449, 30, sablonibus, wdri/m).' Grein, 
Dicht., renders ' Seetang,' and Spr. 11,640, 'alga* (reading 7vdre), and points to 
Dutch ivier and Kent, loaitre; Brooke translates 'weed,' and is followed by 
Brougham (Cook and Tinker, p. 71). The word ware receives adequate discus- 
sion from Hoops, Altenglische FJianzennafnen, pp. 24-25: ' Tang, Fucus und See- 
gras, Zostera Marina = 7vdr, 7adroJ>, sietcdr. Sie machen sich ja an der Kiiste 
dem Schiffer wie dem Fischer durch Verunreinigen der Fahrzeuge und Netze oft 
genug in unangenehmer Weise bemerkbar und werden darum nicht nur im eigent- 
lichen Sinne von Meerespflanzen sondern iibertragend auch fiir Schlamm und 
Schmutz iiberhaupt gebraucht.' Hoops points out that the transition to the mean- 
ing of 'mud' or 'slime' is clearly seen in A'/d. 41 4S-50, where lodroh is used in 
rendering the Latin ' horridior rhamnis et spretis vilior algis.' A similar use is 
found in the imrig hncgl of Gji. A.r. 90 (see Merbach, Das 3/eer, pp. 28-29). See 
Schmid's discussion of 'algaruni maris' {Geseize, Glossar, p. 529). 

3 I) hoIiiiiiia'K'no bijjcaht hiTisaii. Cf. 17 3, eorNe y^um heaht. 

3 10 side sa'griiiKlas. Cf. Exod. 289, saelde sSgrundas. — suiulhelnio. Only 
here and 77 1, sundhelm I'eahte. But cf. nurter/ielnt, Gn. Ex. ii, 3 (Merbach, p. 10). 

312 on sTl»a ji;«'li^vaiii. Cf. P/i. 464, in sl^a gehwane. 

3 13 of l»riiiu's fa']7iiiuin. Cf. 11 6-7, of faeSmum cwom brimes ; .Ind. 1616, 
Jjurh flodes f3E^'m. 

3 '5 y\>'^ . . . J>c iiiec iVT Avrugon. Cf. 772, mec yha wrugon ; 787, y)'um 
bewrigene. 

RIDDLE 4 

Of this Brooke says {E. E. Lit., p. 183) : 'The order and unity of this poem 
is admirable. The imaginative logic of its arrangement is like that which pre- 
vails in the " Ocle to the West Wind," to which indeed it presents many points of 
resemblance, even to isolated phrases. Shelley tells us of his wind — which, as in 
Cynewulf's poem, is a living being — first as flying through the forests and the 
land, then of its work among the clouds, then on and in the sea, then on his own 
soul. Cynewulf tells of his storm-giant rising from his lair, rushing over the sea, 
then over the land, and then in the skv, but not of the storm in his own breast. 



NOTES 



73 



That is the one modem quality we do not find in this poem of Cynewulf. It was 
natural for him — being closer to Nature-worship than Shelley — to impersonate 
his hurricane, to make the clouds into stalking phantoms, to make them pour 
water from their womb and sweat forth fire ; and his work in this is noble.' 
4 1-6 Brooke translates (pp. i S3- 184) : 

Oftenwhiles my Wielder weighs me firmly down, 
Then again he urges my immeasurable breast 
Underneath the fruitful fields, forces me to rest. 
Drives me down to darkness, me, the doughty warrior, 
Fins me down in prison, where u])()ii my back 
Sits the Earth my jailer. 

Brooke compares with these lines, and with 13-16, Slielley's 'Cloud': 

In a cavern under is fettered the thunder, 
It struggles and howls at fits. 

He points also to Aeiieid, i, 56 f. : 

Hie vasto rex Aeolus antro 
Luctantes ventos tempestatesque sonoras 
Imperio premit ac vinclis et carcere frenat, etc. 

(So too the Greek earthquake-demon Typhos, progenitor of the storms, is held 
down in fetters by Sicily and Etna piled upon his breast, Pindar, Fyt/i. i, 33-35.) 
Dietrich believes (XII, 246) that the Anglo-Saxon lines are not suggested by 
Virgil but by Psalms cxxxiv, 7 (Vulgate). Erlemann also thinks (p. 54) that in 
his conception of God as the ruler of the winds the riddler is infldenced by the 
Old Testament, Psalms cxxxiv, 7 (Deus) . . . qui producit ventos de thesauris suis, 
and Jeremiah x, 13. That such passages as these influenced mediaeval science he 
shows by quotation from Beda, De A'atura Rerum, cap. 26, and Isidore 36, § 3. 
Herzfeld (p. 31), on the contrary, believes that this conception is derived neither 
from classical nor scriptural sources, but from the older mythology. 

The idea of the confinement of the violent storm in prison by a higher power 
appears in other Anglo-Saxon poems (Dietrich XII, 246; Herzfeld, p. 31), as 

El. 1271-1276: 

winde gellcost, 
|)onne he for ha>le5um hlud astige'5, 
wffiSeJS be wolcnum, wedende fsreS, 
ond eft semninga swige gewyrSe'5, 
in nedcleofan nearwe geheaSrod, 
(ireani for)>rycced. 

So And. 435-437 : Wa^teregesa sceal, 

geSyd ond geSreatod ))urh I'ryScining, 
lagu laccnde, liSra wyri^an. 



516-520: 



Flodwylm ne masg 
manna iunigne ofer Meotudes est 
lungre gelettan ; ah him Iffes geweald, 
se (Se brimu bindeS, brune ySa 
'Sy"S ond lireataS. 



74 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

4 3 bearin [Jjono] braclan. For such position of article and adjective, see 
349-10, 61 f). Cf. Trautmann, Auglia, Bb. V, 90; Barnouw, p. 221. — ou bid 
AvriceS. Here the reading adopted by recent editors is confirmed by Beow. 2963, 
on bid wrecen. 

4 5 htX'ste. Cosijn's reading seems to me a lectio certisshiia. Grein, Sp7-. II, 24, 
doubtfully derives the MS. hatst from /la-tsait, ' impingere,' of which we have no 
trace elsewhere. I/iesfe, which is found in our present sense Gen. 1396, is the 
equivalent of />ttr/t hiest (see 16 28, J>urh best). I accept also Cosijn's heard (so 
Thorpe translates) for MS. heard, which is not found elsewhere in the poetry in 
this sense, but which is rendered by Brooke ' jailer.' 

4 s honisalu. Only here and And. 1158. 

4 13-i-t sf' nice AvrsT'iJe ou . . . legde. The same idiom is found 21 29-30, se 
mec geara on bende legde. Cf. also And. 1192, I'Sr J'e cyninga cining clamme 
belegde. 

4 16 ]?e me >vegas tgeenetf. Cf. 52 6, se him wegas tiecneK 

4 iS [streauias] styrjjjan. The addition is made by Thorpe in the light of 
4 70, streamas styrge. Cf. also And. 374, streamas styredon. 

4 ig flintf'r;T'j»ne flod. This is the only appearance of the epithet ; fealo is of 
course the common adjective withyfJi/ i^And. \i\, Beotu. 1951, Brttn. 36). 

4 ig'-2o''' Cf. Met. 2S57-5S: 

y"5 wis lande ealneg winne'5, 
wind wis wSge. 

421 dun ofer dypc. Brooke compares Aeneid, i, 105, 'Insequitur cumulo 
praeruptus aquae mons.' Yet Ilerzfeld, p. 38, calls this ' ein modernes Bild.' 

4 22 eare gebloudeu. The phrase suggests the compound ear-[i.ir-)ge/>lond, 
which is discussed by Krapp, Andreas, note to 3S3. 

4 23 uieart'loudc. This is the only appearance of the word in the sense of 
'sea-coast.' As Merbach says (p. 19), ^ niearclond {Rid. 423) und landgeinyrcn 
{/yeou'. 209) sind als Strand, Gestade aufzufassen, sie bedeuten die Landgrenze 
gegen das Wasser bin.' 

4 24-25 Brooke again compares Aeneid, i, 87, ' Insequitur clamorque virum 
stridorque rudentum.' 

4 27 hopycliuastes. Save in this case and in ^co/eengehndste, 4 (x>,gehndst, both 
simple.x and in compounds, is used only of the clash of battle {Gen. 2015, refter 
ham gehnEste; Brun.i,<^, cumbol-gehnastes). The first member of the compound, 
hop, is discussed at length by Dietrich, Ilanpts Zs. IX, 215, and Grein, Spr. II, 
95-96. Cf. Scottish hope, 'a haven.' 

428-29 sllj^re sa*cc'e. Brooke translates (p. 185, n.) : 'with slippery . . ., with 
feeble striving' — and intei"prets 'with a hapless ill-fortuned and therefore a 
despairing strife against the elements. Some are paralyzed in expectation, some 
struggle.' This is finely poetical, but it disregards both grammar (as sircce is 
a genitive dependent upon wen') and word-meaning (slthe and slidor must not 
be confused). Grein renders more accurately: ' Dem Kiele droht da schlimmer 
Kampf.' 



NOTES 75 

4 30 on ]7a griininaii tld. The phrase is found twice in the Clirist, 1081, 1334, 
where it means 'Judgment Day.' In our passage, Brooke (p. 1S5, n.) thinks that 
'it alludes to the moment in which the ship would be driven on the cliffs.' 

431 rice. Grein, Spr. II, 378, derives MS. rice from ' ricn, directio ? ' and 
points to 21 6, io rice ; but that is a misreading of the editors for sact.: Brooke 
asks doubtfully: 'Is rice from ricit ('direction')? Did Cynewulf see the steering 
oar whirled from the hands of the steersman, or does he mean that the ship was 
driven out of its true course ? ' Klaeber, J\/od. Phil. II, 144, conjectures riitce (cf. 
hereri[n]ce, Becnv. 1176; swe[n]cte, 1510; dru[n]cen. Mood. 12, etc.), to be taken 
in a collective sense. This is not an unhappy suggestion ; since (as Merbach shows, 
p. 38) the seaman is elsewhere called sierinc {A/ald. 134 ; Beow. 691), and fyrdri/ic 
{El. 261 ; Maid. 140), and since rince berofen corresponds to the feore bifohteii, 
' deprived of life,' of the next line. But there is no need of departing from the MS. 
/^tce birofen may be rendered, ' bereft of a master ' (i.e. ' a ruling or guiding hand'). 

432 feore bifohten. Klaeber, Mod. Pliil. II, 144, suggests y?r^ bifohteii, i.e. 
' attacked by danger,' ' since on the strength of luibefoliten, " unopposed," " un- 
attacked " {Maid. 57 ; A.-S. Chroii. A.D. 911), the verb befeohtan is plausibly to be 
credited with the meaning of "attack."' But no change seems necessary, since 
the interpretation of Grein and Sweet, ' deprived (by fighting) of life,' is, as 
Klaeber admits, quite in keeping with the context. 

4 34 haelejjuiii j^eyu'ed. For the sake of the alliteration, this suggestion of 
Ettmiiller's for MS. celdiim must be adopted. Grein, Spr. II, 774, meets the 
difficulty by proposing yppan for hyran in the second half-line. 

435 ll^va gcstillecJ ]>ajt. Erlemann, p. 55, thinks that these words refer to 
the stilling of the waves by Christ (Matthew viii, 23): 'Tunc surgens increpavit 
vento et mari et facta est tranquillitas magna, porro homines mirati sunt dicentes : 
qualis est hie quia et venti et mare oboediunt ei.' The theme is expanded at 
great length in the Andreas, with which poem the Storm riddles have much in 
common in both style and vocabulary. Erlemann concludes that the appearance 
of God as lord of the winds has therefore a Christian source, and is not, as Herz- 
feld thinks (p. 34), an indication of 'die strenge echt germanische Abfassung des 
Dienst- und Untertanenverhaltnisses.' Are not both scholars right, and have we 
not here a Christian ;«<;/'//' colored by the Germanic spirit .'' 

436 rlde?y on bajoe. On account of the meter, this reading of Grein 's note 
and of Herzfeld (p. 45) is to be preferred to the MS. on birce rtde&. 

4 3C1 f. Erlemann, p. 52, declares that in these lines the ideas of Beda {De 
Xa/itra Rerum, 28, 49) are developed into the loftiest poetry: ' Der Sturm sitzt 
in den Wolken, er zerrt sie weit auseinander und lasst sie dann wieder zusam- 
menschnellen, er wirft die schwarzen Wasserfasser hierhin und dorthin ; treffen 
sie aufeinander niit ihren Randern, dann entsteht "der Getose lautestes." ' 

438 lagustreaina full. This corresponds in meaning to iviTgfatit (1. 37), 
'clouds,' and is rightly rendered by Grein, Diclit., 'der Wasserstrome Becher' 
(not, as Brooke translates, 'full of lakes of rain '). Cf. Beo^o. 1208, oferySa ful. 

4 39 s^vesa nia'st. Cf. Ph. 618, swega maeste. 

441 cynio'ff s<'eo[r]. The MS. sceo is an interesting hapax, as it furnishes an 
Anglo-Saxon analogue to Old Saxon skio and Icel. shy, 'cloud' (see Cleasby- 



76 Kii)i)Li:s ()!•" Till': i:xi;ii:r uook 

Vigfiisson, s.v.) ; and as the word, sky,-, appears in M. K. with the meaning ' cloud ' 
(Chaucer, House of I'ame, 1600) : ' That hit ne lefte not a skye | In al the welken.' 
Unfortunately, as Cosijn points out (/'/>7)'. XXlll, 128), a passage in the Andreas, 
512, establishes the reading s<?or, 'cloud,' 'shower': J>oniie sceor ,yine&. Sc/'tr 
is found with the lemma iiiiiibns, WW. 175,22; 316,36. 

444 blacan 1ik«>. Cf- And. 1511. In his note to the passage Krapp (piotes 
from Mead's article (/'..)/./.. A . Xl\', 177): '/>'/,?< is merely an ablaut form of 
the stem l'lua>i, " to sliine," anil perha])s hardly means white at all. In a few cases 
it evidently means pale or ghastly. It is properly applied to the fire or the fire- 
light and even to the red flame or to the ligiitning or to the light of stars. Of 
the twenty-eight instances where the word occurs, — either alone or as part of a 
compound, — nearly all seem to lay emphasis on the brightness rather than the 
whiteness.' 

4 45 dn'olitiiiii. For the IMS. reading dreoiiliini, 'Thorpe suggested dreo/itiiiii = 
drvlitiini (•])i)pulis ') and was followed doubtfully by (".rein, .S/r. 1, 204. This is 
favored by 4 4.., ojer biiri^um, and 4 43, o/er fohinn. Clrein, />'//'/. TI, 371, note, pro- 
posed dreoiii^iiDi = drciigitm, but llolthausen, Jiiii:;!. Stud. XXXVII, 206, rightly 
rejected this as Scandinavian (,//•(•;/;■;■) rather than English, and proposed drl'or- 
i^iiin. The 'dreary ones' are the terrified nun .vf 4 ,;, .,,,. I prefer Thorpe's sug- 
gestion. 

4 46-4S -The jtoet represents tlie thunder and lightning as arising from the 
violent meeting of the clouds, without expressly mentioning \.\\c j'rai:;or; but this 
bursting of the clouds is taken for granted by the author, who thus continues : 

fealian la-t;\iN 
sweart sumsendu seaw ot bosnie, 
w;Ttan of wombe. 

This is pictured as the result of the bursting' (ICrlemann). 

447 F.rooke (p. 1S5) rentiers this finely and accurately, ' swarthy sap of showers 
sounding from tiuir breast'; and adds: 'I should like to have in English the 
("•erman word suiiinwii, which answers here to siiiiiseiid, and translate this sfim- 
Diing. "Sounding" does not give the humming hiss of the rain.' For a discus- 
sion of the etymology of sumsendu, see Kogel, C'esc/iic/ite der deutselten Lit., 1S94, 
I. 53-54 (l^right). 

4 4S f. Krlemann says (p. 53) ; ' Von Vers 48 ab verliisst der Dichter dann diesen 
Vorstellungskreis : der Sturm die Ursache des (lewitters ; seine Phantasie ist 
ganz erfiillt von dem liilde des Kampfes der dahinfahrenden Wolken und kann 
noch nicht /ur Ruhe konimen. Das IJild spinnt si( h fort: Winnende J'are& atol 
?oredh>''it ; altlieidnisi he mvthische Vorstellungen niiigen dabei wachgerufen sein 
und hier durchschatten, aber sie werden wieder zuriickgedrangt durch christliche 
I'.mptindungen.' 

4 52 Sfln. The nature of such demons is described. Whale, 31 34 : 

SwTi 1)1 iN sciiina |'oa\v, 
deotla wisr |'at hi ihcilitemlr 
)>urh dyrne nu-.ilit dugUiNe lieswlca't^ 
ond on teosu t\lita> tilra da'da. 



NOTi:S "jy 

4 51-5S Cf. Ps. 63 4, hi hine . . . scearpum strjelum on scotia'S. 

4 53-5S As sources of these lines Kilemann (p. 53) suggests Ps. xvii, 15, ' I'lt 
misit sagittas suas et dissipavit eos : fulguia multiplicavit et conturbavit eos ' 
(2 Sam. xxii, 15) ; Ps. c.xliii, 6. 

4 55 on gerylitu. Ci. Jiu/. 202, J\/t-t. 31 17, on gerihtc, which has also the meaning 
'straight.' 

458 rynegiestcs. Thorpe and ]5rool<e render 'the rain-spirit,' but Grein in- 
terprets in Spr. II, 386, 'profluvii hospes,' and in Dicht. he translates ' des Rin- 
nengastes.' Bosworth-Toller translates 'a guest or foe that comes svviftly(?)' and 
Sweet, Did., ' a swift guest ' — a rendering supported by such compounds as ryiie- 
siroug, ryneswift. But, as the simplex ryiie, ' rain,' appears in apposition with 
regn {Gen. 1416), and as the interpretation 'rain-foe' seems suited to the con- 
text, I have adopted that. 

4 59 Cf. Bemo. 2408, se )>3es orleges or onstealde. 

4 59 ff. Herzfeld, p. 37, remarks, ' Der Sturm wird, 459, in einem priichtigen 
Bilde als Kriegserreger vorgefiihrt, die Krieger sind die Wolken {Jild&gecrod), die 
mit lautem Gekrach auf einander stossen ; sie schwitzen Feuer aus (die Blitze, die 
mit Pfeilen verglichen werden), ein dunklerSaft fliesst ihnen aus dem Busen u.s.w.' 

462 ofer byriijin bosin. Cf. And. 441, of brimes bosme; Exod. 493, famig- 
bosma. Cosijn (/'/>'/>. XXIII, 12S) doubtfully compares Pan. 7, Hsne beorh- 
tan bosm ; but the reference is to the earth, not to the waters. Brooke says 
(p. 186): 'The word I here translate torrents is byrnan ("of burns or brooks"). 
Torrent is quite fair, for the word is connected with byrnan ("to burn"). The 
upsurging and boiling of fire is attributed to the fountain and stream. Cynewulf 
is not thinking of the quiet brooks of the land, but of the furious leaping rivers 
which he conceives as hidden in the storm clouds over which the storm giant 
passes on his way.' 

463 hf-ah hIo<Tgecro(l. Brooke, K. E. Lit., p. 1S6, says: "■ IIld& is the name 
given to "a band of robbers from seven to thirty-five" \_Lais.is of Ine § 13, Schmid 
pp. 26-27], hence any troop or band of men S^And. 42, 1391, etc.]. Gecrod is "a 
crowd," "a multitude." Thus compounded, the word means, I think, a crowd made 
up of troops ; of troops of clouds ! Then the word " high " put with /iIo&gec7-od 
and the context prove sufficiently that Cynewulf was thinking of the piled-up 
clouds of the storm ; and no doubt the .notion of ravaging and slaughter con- 
nected with II!d& pleased his imagination, for his tempest is a destroyer.' Brooke's 
translation ' the high congregated cloud-band ' is suggested by Shelley's lines 
(with which compare 4 42-4S) : 

Vaulted with all thy congregated might 
Of vapors, from whose solid atmosphere 
Black r.iin and fire and hail will burst. O, hear ! 

467-72 In these lines occurs a summary of the various manifestations of the 
Storm, but Pid. 2, which represents the Storm in general, finds no place in this 
review. It is interesting to note that the order of the single descriptions does not 
conform to the order in the summary. There the maritime eruption (Seebeben), 
Pid. 3, stands before the earthquake (4 i-if.) ; here, after. Erlemann (pp. 53-54) 



78 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

does not believe that any derangement of the text, any inversion of 3 and 4 1-16, 
has taken place. 'In the summary a more convenient adjustment of the verse 
may have brought it al)()ut that nd particular regard is paid to the accurate 
sequence of the several parts ; it is also possible that the poet anticipated 4 i-i6 
in order to place 3 and 4 17-35 near together, so as to contrast them better : " Now 
I shall fight under the waves, now above the waves."' 

469 hean uii<lerhiii}>aii. In Jhc/it. (irein translates 'Bald soil ich des Oceans 
Wogen I die hohen unterneigen,' and he is followed by Harnouw, p. 221, who 
regards /lean as ace. j^l., weak, of /li'ii/i. In Spr. II, 55, Grein rightly gives the 
word under kcdit, 'low'; cf. Gn. Ax. 118, hean sceal gehnigan. 

4 71 Avide fere. Cf. 59 3, wide ne fereS; 95 3, fere (MS. fereN) wide. 

473-74 Aldhelm iv, i, 'Cernere me nulli possunt, nee prendere palmis,' which 
Prehn (p. 160) regards as one of the sources of the Anglo-Saxon, is derived, like 
the English riddle, from the Bible : I'rov. xxx, 4, 'quis continuit spiritum in mani- 
bus suis,' and Ecclus. xxxiv, 2. So Erlemann, pp. 55-56 (but the connection is 
certainly not close). 1 have traced the history of this motive, A/oii. Phil., II, 563. 
It appears in Bede's Mores, No. V, in various 'dialogues' [//aiipts Zs. XV, 167, 
169), and in MS. Bern. 611, No. 41. 

KIDDLE 5 

Dietrich (XI, 461) suggested first the answer 'Bell," but rejected it imme- 
diatelv in favor of 'Millslone,' believing that the latter fulfilled more closely 
all the conditions of the problem. Grein, .S/^r. 11, 716, accepts the first solu- 
tion; and Lrehn, jij). 163, 165, the second, but he fails in his attempt to indicate 
a likeness between this riddle and the 'Millstone' enigmas of Symijhosius (51, 
52) and Aldhelm (iv, 12). In riddle-literature there are no analogues to aid 
one, the many 'Bell' and 'Millstone' problems (see Schleicher, p. 201; Symp. 
80, Tiiititmahnliim; Tatwine 7, De Tiiitinno) being of a totally different type. 
Personally, I incline to the first answer. The h^gn or servant may be the ostia- 
7-iits or diirewerd (see Canons of AUfric, 11), who is thus described by William 
of Malmesbury {^Gesta Pontificum, "jG, cited by Padelford, Miisicnl Terms hi Old 
Kui^lish, p. 56) : ' Reckisis enim a dormitorio in ecclesiam omnium parietum obsta- 
culis vidit monachum, cujus id curae erat, a lecto egressum funem signi tenere 
quo monachos ammoneret surgere.' Not only monasteries, but Anglo-Saxon 
houses of better estate had each its bellhfis (Padelford, I.e.; Be l?ocl-geJ>i)ic&uin 2, 
Schmid p. 38S) ; but, as Schmid points out {Glossar s. v.), the word may refer to the 
refectory, to which one was summoned by bells (cf. Du Cange s. v. Thiellns) or 
perhaps to the cloccarhim vel lucar (the lemma of belli fis, WW. 327, 16). Our rid- 
dle refers, I think, not to the hai^d bell, litel belle or iiutiiniabulum (for a discussion 
of its use, see Westwood, Faesimiles, p. 152, Padelford, p. 58), but to the micel belle 
or catiipana (yElfric, Gloss., WW. 327, 18). This was well known in the England 
of the eighth century, for in Tatwine's De Tiiitiniio enigma (No. 7) the bell is 
suspended high in air. ' versor superis suspensus in auris.' 

Professor Trautniann brings nothing to' support his 'Threshing-flail' solution 
of our enigma. 



NOTES 79 

Andrews, Old English Manor, p. 259, discusses the Anglo-Saxon mill or quern, 
and thus translates the last lines of our Riddle: '"Sometimes a warm limb may 
break the bound fetter; this, however, is due to my servant, that moderately wise 
man who is like myself, so far as he knows anything and can by words convey my 
constructing message." We here accept Grein's translation almost without change, 
but of the last two lines can make no meaning. The iron-work of the mill is in- 
teresting, as is also the harsh grating sound with which it moves when started in 
the early morning. These features Cynewulf has added to the original of Sym- 
phosius (Prehn, pp. 163-165).' See also Heyne, Ilalle lleorot, p. 27 ; Fiinf Biicher 
II, 257-266; and Klump, Altenglischc Ilanihuerhnatiien, pp. 13-15. They accept 
the ' Millstone' answer and discuss mills and mill-maid {Laws of Ai&elberht § 11, 
Schmid p. 2). 

5 1 priigbysig. Dietrich finds the source of this in Aldhelm's line (iv, 124), 
'Altera nam currit, cjuod nunquam altera gessit,' while Prehn points to Sym- 
phosius 51 : 

Anibo sumus lapides, una sumus, ambo jacemus. 

Quam piger est unus, tantum non est piger alter : 

Hie nianet inuiiotus, non desinit ille nioveri. 

But the parallel is far-fetched. The epithet might well apply to a bell, for this is 
surely 'periodically employed.' Dr. Uright suggests the meaning 'perpetually.' 

52,4 hringiiiii hfvfted . . . hal.s\vrij7an. Wanley, Catalogue 109, 2, 16-20: 
^ Se bend '^& se clipur ys m\d ge'cri&cii, ys swylce hit sy sum gemetegung ^a,'t "SSre 
tungan clipur ma;ge styrian, and iSa lippan asthwega beatan. So)>lice mid Xass rapes 
ret-hrlne se bend styra)> JSone clipur.' ' The band with which the clapper is tied, 
is, as it were, a method for moving the clapper of the tongue and beating more 
or less the lips. So, with the touch of the rope, the band moves the clapper' 
(B.-T. s.v. Clipur). The key in /'/(/. gi 4 is hringiitn gyrded\ but such phrases 
are even better suited to the durance of the bell, as Wanley's account of the bend 
shows. With hringum /nr/led compare Gen. 762, haeft mid hringa gespanne {Satan). 

5 3 The line refers to the beating of the clapper against the sides {mtn bed 
brecan), and to the sound of the bell {brealitme cyhan). 

5 7 []7aet] \vearni[e] liin. ■[> is perhaps omitted on account of preceding -/^in 
onni<eJ>e. Grein, Spr. II, 1S8, supposes li>n to refer to mantis. This accords well 
with the 'Bell' solution. See Techmer,. 2, 118, 7 (cited by Padelford, pp. 56, 71): 
' Daes diacanes tacen is J>3:t mon mid hangiendre hande do swilce he gehwSde 
bellan cnyllan wille.' Or if the large bell is meant, the w'arm limb may be the 
clipur, which bursts the ring with which it is bound {supra). 

5 8 berste?y. This is the only appearance of the verb in a transitive sense 
in Anglo-Saxon ; but the word is used so commonly with an active meaning in 
Middle English (see Matzner, or Bradley-Stratmann, s. v.) as to make such a 
rendering very plausible here. 

5 9-12. The editors punctuate variously and thus give widely differing mean- 
ings to the last four lines of the riddle. Thoqje's rendering is utter nonsense. 
Ettmiiller puts a period after /imiluin (1. 8), a semicolon after men (11), and no 
point after syl/e. Grein and Assmann place a comma after hwiliim and a comma 
after sylfe. I point as in text, and render ' It (the ring) is, however, acceptable 



80 RIDDLKS OF TlIK KXKTKR T.OOK 

to my tliaiio, a moderately wise man, and to me likewise, if I (an inanimate thing) 
can know anything and in words successfully tell my story.' For the happy 
rendering of the last clause 1 am indebted to Dr. IJrighl. 

5 lo ]>jct syllV'. This accusative of specilication is eciuivalent to the adverb 
' likewise ' (cf. Chr. 937 ; /V. Si ,<, i 2S 1 ; Spy. 11, .|2c)). 

5 11-12 inTii . . . spcl. l*"or separation of possessive pronoun and substantive, 
see 7 <r"'. I'y^i • • • drohtaS. With the last line of our riddle compare Beoiv. 874, 
on sped wreoan spel. 

KIDDLE (5 

As early as iS;,5, L. C. Miiller {CoUcitaiica Aiii:lo-Saxonica, pp. 63-64) sug- 
gested ' Si utum ' as an answer; and Dietrich XI, .i()i, gives the same solution, 
lie and his follower i'rehn, p. 165, jioint to Aldiielni's ' t'lypeus ' enigma (iii, 13) 
as a source. The resemblance is very slight. l>oth shields have received many 
wounds {infra) ; but Aldhelm's is a glorious warrior, while that of our riddler 
is a broken fighter (Brooke, /;./•;. /.//., p. 123, note). Unlike Aldhehn, the Anglo- 
Saxon poet does not dwell upon the relation of the shield to its lord. A literary 
analogue, as Dietrich pointed out, is the 26th riddle of the Ihrvarar Saj^'-n, where 
the Shield vaunts its wounds (see Ileusler, Zs. ,/. I'./. /7\ XI, 139, 148). Traut- 
mann's ' Ilackeklot/. ' has nothing in its favor. The riddle is rich in conventional 
epithets, api)lied to ihe Shield's enemy, the Sword, not only elsewhere in the 
poetrv but in other riddles. 

llhnninated Anglo-Saxon MSS. usually represent the warrior as armed with 
no other defensive weapons than shield and helmet (Meyrick, Anlioit Armour, 
1S42, p. li ; Keller, pp. 71 f.). The shield, circular or slightly oval in shape, is usu- 
ally of linden-wood, sometimes covered with leather, with a metal-bound edge 
and in the center an iron umbo or boss, a small basin tapering at the top to a 
point and ending in a knob {Gn. C. 37, rand sceal on scylde f.xst fingra gebeorh). 
Hosses are of various form and of different degrees of ornament (Roach-Smith, 
Collectanea Antiqiia 1, 10.1 ; II, Plate 36; III. Plate 2). The grave-finds reveal a 
large number of shields of which boss and handle alone remain (Keller, pp. 74-79 ; 
Kemble, Ilorae Feiales, p. S2). 

61 Tserno -\viiik1. Cf. AVcti'. 565, mecum wunde ; 1076, gare wunde. See Ald- 
lu'hu iii, 1 3 J, ' patiens discrimina dura duelli.' 

6 i bea(l<>weor<'a sa'd. Cf. 34 6, biter beadoweorca ; Ihiiii. 20, werig wiges sa;d. 
6 .1 e<-<;uiii -wori;;-. Cf. And. 127S, wundum werig ; Mai J. 303, wundum werige ; 

/>V<w. 293S, wundum werge. — Oft ic wis ««"'*N etc. See Aldiiehn iii, 13, ' Quis 
tantos casus . . . susci]iit in bello . . . miles ? ' 

6.1 frwin" fi'ohlaii. So ./;/,/. 1350. — frolVc lie weiio. Cf. (,'//. 470, frofre ne 
wcnaN; IU-o~v. 185, frofre ne wenan. 

6'' oal forwnr<lo. Cf. /'.f. iiSq^, call forwurde. 

6 7 hoiiiora lafe. Cf. Beo7v. 2S30 ; Brun. 6, homera lafuni, — in both cases of 
swords. In Kid. 71 3-4, the Sword or Dagger calls itself ivrdhra Id/, \ jyres ondfeole. 
For many examples of la/ ixs a synonym of sword in the poetry, see S/>r. II, 152, 
and Cook, 'A Latin Poetical Idiom in Old ]L\\g\\s,\\,' American Journal 0/ Phi- 

Mocy, VI, 476. 



NOTES 8 I 

6 8 hoardeoj? heoroscearp. Cf. Becnu. 2S30, hearde, hea^o-scearpe homera 
life ; Jiiii. 263, heaidum heoruwSpnutn. Heardecg is found as an epithet of the 
sword, Bemu. 12S9, 1491, Kl- 758. — liondwcor*- siiii]7a. Ho of the Sword, 21 7. 
Cf. also 27 14, wraetlic weorc smi)>a. For the position of the smith in Anglo-Saxon 
times, see notes to Kid. 38. 

6 9 bitaiS ill biivKiiin. In 93 21-22, eallc Jxcttc bord hitoii, 'all that bit tlie shield,' 
is a circumlocution for 'swords' or 'knives.' Cf. 93 17-18, heah mec heard bite | 
stliNecg style. The sword-bite is a commonplace of the poetry, Jul. 603, jnirh 
sweordbite; Ap. 34, Surh sweordes bite. 

69-10 Gil. 20-;, gif he leiig bide ldj>rau ge7ndtes, seems to support the change of 
MS. dbJdan to d bldau. But as dbtdan appears not infrequently in the desired 
sense {Spr. I, 12) I have retained it in the te.xt. 

6 10-12 For the use of worts in Anglo-Saxon leechcraft, see Cockayne's Leech- 
dotiis, passim. They were used particularly as dolgsealfa nviS" ealliivi ivundiim 
{Lfhd. II, 8, 26). Among the common worts employed for wound-salves' (Zf//</. 
II, 90 f.) were groundsel, brooklime, lustmock, broad-leaved brownwort, ribwort, 
meadow-wort, githrife, cockle, carline thistle, ashthroat. 

6 14 daguin Olid uihtuiii. So Exod. 97 ; Met. 20 213. 

RIDDLF 7 

The rune S {Sii^el, ' the sun ') precedes and follows the riddle in MS., thus 
putting the solution beyond doubt. The poem bears no resemblance to Aldhelm 
viii, 3, De Sole el Luna, save in the design of the Almighty, who in the Latin is the 
' Lord of Olympus,' in the Anglo-Saxon is the Christ. It certainly owes nothing to 
Eusebius 10, De Sole. The problem is like in kind to the 31st riddle in Ilaug's 
collection from the A'/x'Tedu (p. 495) : ' Kinen rastlosen liirten sah ich hin und 
her wandeln auf (seinen) Pfaden ; sich kleidend in die zusammenlaufenden (und) 
auseinanderlaufenden (Strahlen) macht er (seine) Runde.' Cf. the Latin hymns 
in praise of the Sun (Meyer, Atit/ioloffia Laiiim, 1833, pp. 1024-1025). 

71-2 Cf. Aldhelm viii, 35, ' Sed potius summi genuit regnator Olympi.' Hut 
the Anglo-Saxon has much in common with the well-known pas.sage from Ps. 
(Vulgate) cxxxvi, 7-8 : ' Qui fecit luminaria magna . . . solem in potestatem diei 
quoniam in aeternum misericordia ejus.' So in the Anglo-Saxon poetical version 
of Ps. Ixxiii, 16, |>u gesettest sunnan and monan, sit^-ora waldend. So Gen. 126, 
1 112, etc. 

'The Father is thought of especially as the Creator (////. in, C/ir. 224, 472), 
though this function is sometimes attributed to the Son (////. 726, C/u-. 14 f.), and 
is sometimes exercised by Him with the Father [C/i?-. 239-240),' Cook, Christ, p. 
Ixxvi. So in the Skaldskaparmdl, § 52 {Snorra Jidda I, 446), Christ is called ska- 
para himins ohjar&ar, engla oh solar. 

7 2 to ronipc. The Sun and Moon are portrayed as fierce fighters in Rid. 30. 
— oft ic CAVH'C bjcriio. Cf. Ps. 1206, ne he sunne on dxg .sol ne gelja-rne. 

73 unriniu cyn. So Pa?!. 2. — oorj^an gotonge. So 772. Cf. 88-9, getenge 
. . . flode ond foldan. Grein is wrong in regarding ,.;,'-tr/tv/^'-i? as ace. pi. {Spr. I, 463); 
it obviously modifies the sul)ject of the riddle. 



82 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

76-9 Of the joy and comfort that the Sun brings to men, the IVotiders of Crea- 
tion gives glowing account (59-67) : 

ond ^>is leohte beorht 
cymeiS morgna gehwam ofer misthleo}>u, 
wadan ofer wSgas, wundrum gegierwed, 
ond mid Srdxge eastan snoweS, 
wlitig ond wynsum wera cneorissiim ; 
lifgendra gehwam leoht for'5 biere'5 
bronda beorhtost, ond his brucan mot 
a'ghwylc on eorj'an he him eagna gesih'S 
sigora soScyning syllan wolde. 

77* I can see no reason for departing from the MS. here by inserting wel be- 
iorefrefre. Hw . . . 7c> alliteration is found i 12, 36 u, Banv. 2299 (Heyne's note), 
Gil. 323, C/ir. iSS. Cf. Sievers, Altgermaiiisclie Metrik, p. 37, note. 

7 10 gedreag. The word gedreag, elsewhere used in the sense of ' crowd,' 
'troop,' 'tumult,' is here applied to the ocean, probably with reference to 'the 
multitudinous seas.' 

RIDDLE 8 

To this riddle there are no Latin analogues. All scholars accept, however, the 
solution ' Swan.' And the tradition of the musical plumage of this bird, occurring 
elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon poetry {P/icvnix, 137), is admirably illustrated by a fable 
found by Dietrich XI, 462, in the letter of Gregory of Nazianzus to Celeusius 
i^Opera, Caillau, Paris, 1S42, II, 102). In this the swan explains to the swallows 
that sweetness and harmony are produced by the breath of the west wind against 
its wings. Neither Gessner, ' De Avibus ' {I/istoria Aiiiinaliiint, 1554, III, 360), 
nor Paulus Cassel {Dcr Sc/i70ciii in Sc7ge 11. Leben, Berlin, 1872), nor Swainston 
{^Folk-Lore of British Birds, Folk-Lore Society, 1SS5, p. 151) mentions the legend 
of singing feathers, although each of them refers to the whistling swan of the 
North. Very much to the point is a passage from Carl Engel's Afusical Myths 
and Facts, 1S76, I, 89: 'Although our common swan does not produce sounds 
which might account for this tradition, it is a well-known fact that the wild swan 
{Cygnus feriis^, also called the whistling swan, when on the wing, emits a shrill 
tone, which however harsh it may sound if heard near, produces a pleasant effect 
when, emanating from a large flock higJi in the air [cf. Kid. 8 S-g], it is heard in a 
variety of pitches of sound, increasing or diminishing in loudness according to the 
movements of the birds and to the currents of air.' For the superstition of the 
swan singing at death, of which our riddler makes no mention, see Douce, Ilhts- 
tratio7is of Shakspere, 1839, p. i6r ; Dyer, Folk-Lore of Shakspeare, 18S3, p. 147. 
Swainston, I.e., discusses in detail the place of the swan in mediaeval laws and 
oaths (see also Archaeologia XXXII, 1847, 423-428). 

The riddle of the Swan, as I have pointed out in the Introduction, has much in 
common with two other bird riddles (11 and 58). The swan's song is mentioned 
Seaf. i<), ylfete song. For a late English analogue to this Swan riddle see Pretty 
Riddles, 1631, No. 35, Brandl, /<;/^;-/'. der deutschen Sh. Gesell. XLII (1906), 57. 



NOTES 83 

Brooke says (p. 148): ' Once on a time Cynewulf, who may now have seen the 
Swan flying over the forest to some inland pool or fen, described it in one of the 
finest of his riddles — marking especially the old tradition of its song not before 
its death but when it left the village to fly over the great world. Nor did it sing 
with its throat. Its feathers sounded melodiously as the wind went through them. 
... It has the modem quality. Phrases like "the strength of the clouds," "the 
spirit that fares over flood and field," the melodious rustling of the fretted feather- 
robe, the sense of a conscious life and personality in the bird and its pleasure in 
its own beauty are all more like nineteenth century poetry in England than any- 
thing which follows Cynewulf for a thousand years.' 

8 I Urirj"!. This word is again used of the plumage of a bird (Barnacle Goose) 
in the riddle's closest analogue, 11 7''. — hrusan trede. So we are told of the 
Swallows, 58 5, trcda& bearomessas etc. Cf. Gcii. <:)Oj. 

8 2 ]7a ^vlc biige. Cf. 16 8, wic buge ; G/i. 274, \>e \>3, wlc bugaS. — Avado drefo. 
Cf. 23 16; //. J/. 20, lagu drefan ; Bcoic. 1904, drefan deop waeter. 

83-7 So in II g-ii the air and wind raise the Barnacle Goose and bear it far 
and wide (note the likeness of wording in the two passages). In 58 i ' this air bears 
little wights' (Swallows). The best explanation of these passages is found in 
the Ilcxameron of /Elfric (edited by Norman, 2d ed. 1S49, P- 8) : ' Dast lyft is swa 
heah swa swa Sa heofonlican wolcnu and eac ealswa brad swa swa "SSre eor'San 
bradnyss. On "NSre fleoJS fugelas, ac heora fi"6'era ne mihton nahwider hi aberan, 
gif hi ne abzere soo lyft.' 

83 ofiT Iia'IcJja bylit. Cf Gen. 2213, folcmsgSa byht ; 23 12, ofer WKteres 
byht. 

. 84 hyrste mine. So of the wings of the Goose, 11 s''. — J^eos hea lyft. Cf. 
119, lyft ; 58 I, J'eos lyft. 

8 6-q For a reference to the singing of the Swan's feathers, compare the pas- 
sage in the Pkanix, 134-137 (Bright's reading): 

Xe magon Jiam breahtme byman ne hornas, 
ne hearpan hlyn, ne haele^ja stefn 
iEnges on eor|'an, ne organan sweg, 
ne hleoj^res geswin, ne swanes fetSre. 

Lactantius mentions here (1. 49) 'olor moriens.' 

That certain birds have the power, in flight, to make a sound with their feathers 
at will, is shown by the example of the kingbird, which swoops down silently till 
clo.se above its enemy's head and then loudly rattles its feathers with alarming 
suddenness; and of the ruffed grouse or American partridge, which takes flight 
now in silence and now with the loud whir which is so disconcerting to some of 
its enemies. That this power is used by some birds as a sort of song appears by 
what Gilbert White of Selborne says of the 'bleating' or 'humming' of cock-snipes. 
Letter XXXIX (Pennant): 'Whether that bleating or humming is ventriloquous 
or proceeds from the motion of their wings, I cannot say ; but this I know, that 
when this noise happens the bird is always descending, and his wings are violently 
agitated' (compare also Letter XVI). White's most recent editor notes that ' this 
noise made by the cocksnipe when after risiui^to a great heio/it [AVi/. 8 3-6] he casts 



84 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

himself down through the air . . . seems to be produced liy tlie air waves being 
driven by tlie powerful wing-beats through the expanded and rigid tail feathers.' 

8 6 FraetAve mine. Frcctwe is again used of plumage PIi. ^t^iS^frcetzve flyhthiua- 
tes. As Brooke says (p. 14S), '■ Frcctwe is originally carved fretted things; hence an 
ornament — anything costly; here then my rich garment of feathers.' 

8 7-8 SAviiisia'S, | torhte singaS. Cf. Chr. 8S4, singaS ond swinsia'ii. The phrase 
appears twice in the very passage of the F/nv/iix in which 'the singing feathers' 
are introduced: 124, swinsae) ond singe S; 140, singe'5 swa ond swinsat^. 



RIDDLE 9 

To this riddle many solutions have been offered. In his first article (XI, 461- 
462) Dietrich wavered between A.-S. Saiigpipe and the Xilitegale, supporting the 
first by the C-rune (possibly for Caviena, which is the lemma to saiigpipe, Pru- 
dentius Gl., Germaiiia, N. S., XI, 389, 26) which precedes the riddle in the MS., 
and the second by reference to Aldhelm's Luscinia enigma (ii, 5). Later, XII, 
239, he presented with confidence the answer ' Wood-pigeon,' defending this by 
three arguments: (i) the Anglo-Saxon name of this bird, Cuscote (WW. 37, 35, 
Palumbes, cuscote) meets the demand of the C-rune; (2) with its flexible voice 
it really imitates the song of jesters {Rid. 96, 9-10); and (3) it attains to a great 
age {Rid. 9 5, eald icfensceop). Each of these three solutions has been accepted, 
the first by Padelford, p. 52, the second by Brooke, E. E. Lit., p. 149, the third 
by Prehn, p. 167. Yet another answer, ' Bell,' is given by Trautmann {Aiiglia, 
Bb. V, 48) and repeated by Padelford, p. 53; and this is accepted by Holt- 
hausen, w^ho asserts stoutly, without a jot of proof {Anglia, Bb. IX, 357): 'Die 
C-rune iiber diesen ratsel bedeutet offenbar clugge, "glocke." ' Of these solu- 
tions, ' Nightingale ' seems to me distinctly the best, for its varied note is heard 
in so much poetry of the late Latin period ; for instance, in the Philomela elegies 
of the mythical Albus Ovidius Juventinus and Julius Speratus (Wernsdorf, Poetae 
Latini iMinores, VI, 388, 403 ; compare Schenkl, Sitzber. der phil.-liist. CI. der 
Wiener- Akade/itie, 1863, XLIII, 42 f.), and in the pretty Luscinia poem of Alcuin 
(Migne, P. L. CI, 803). Yet A'ihtegale does not fit the rune, and is obviously the 
reverse of scurrilous ; hence this answer, like the others, must be given up. The 
motive of the problem so closely resembles that of Rid. 25, Higora, that I am 
inclined to accept that answer here. It caps the query at every point. The jay is 
a jester. Martial in his epigrams calls it 'pica loquax ' (xiv, 76) and 'pica salu- 
tatrix ' (vii, 87), and Ovidius Juventinus in his Philomela poem, 33-34, says: 

Pica loquax varias concninat gutture voces, 
Scurrili strepitu quiccjuid et audit, ait. 

Grein's citations {Spy. II, 72, s. v. higora) are apposite: 'Die Glosse "berna, 
higrae," gl. Epinal. 663 (156) and gl. Erf. (wo berita flir veriia, wie diese Glossen 
ofter in den lat. Wcirtern h fiir v schreiben) zeigt [see also WW. 35S, 5], dass der 
Name unsres spasshaften Vogels auch fiir Spassmacher, Hanswurst iiberhaupt 
gait.' See Notes to Rid. 25. Like the ' Psittacus ' of Alex. Neckam, De Xatura 



NOTES «5 

Rcrum 36 (Rolls Series, 1863, p. 88) the 'Higora' may be thus described: 'In 
excitando risu praeferendus histrionibus.' See also Dietrich, XI, 465 f. The 
Latin names of the bird in Anglo-Saxon glosses (WW. 13, 18, cicuanus, higrcv; 
132. 5, catanus, higere), 'Cicuanus' and ' Catanus,' may have suggested the 

Crune. , 

9 ,-3 It is possible that these lines may have been suggested by Aldhelm s 
iMScinia enigma (ii, 5) : ' Vox mea diversis variatur pulchra figuris.' ^Yet the 
thought is closely paralleled by the undoubted Iligora enigma, 25 ., ivrasne mine 

ste/iie. 

9 , purh niup. This is decisive against the Sangpipe solution. In 61 9, the 
Reed-pipe tells us explicitly that it is mu&lcas. — mongum reordum. So Cu. 870. 

92 wreneum singe. Cf. Ph. 131-133: 

BiS hajs hleoSres sweg 
eallum songcrreftum swetra ond wlitigra 
ond wynsumra wrenca gehwylcum. 

9 2-3 wrixlo . . . heafo(lwo]7e. Cf. Ph. 127, wrixle'S wo«craefte (the bird). 

93 hlutle cirme. Cf. 584, hlude cirmaS (s%vallows)\ 492-3, hlude | stefne ne 
cirmde ; Gu. 872, hludne herecirm. 

9 4 hlgopre ne mil7e. In its present sense of ' refrain from ' mlhan ^s found 
elsewhere in poetry only in 64 10, also with the instrumental : ne ?uceg ic ky mihan. 
9 5-6 bringe I blisse. Cf. Chr. 68, bringe'S blisse. 

9 7 stefne stymie. Cf. Ps. 76 ., mid stefne . . . styrman ; 139 6, stefne . . . stymie; 
141 I, stefn . . . styrmeS. 

9 8 swigende. The MS. nigende is regarded by all scholars as corrupt. There 
is little to choose between Grein's suggestion, hnigende 'gesenkten Ilauptes,' 
and the swigende of Ettmiiller and Cosijn. I prefer the second because it accords 
better with alliteration and context. Why listen with reverence {hnlgan is always 
used with that implication) to the scurrilous chatter of a jay? Grein, indeed, 
renders in Dicht. ' Stille in den Hausem sitzen sie und schweigen.' 

99-10 These lines support my interpretation, 'Higora' or 'Jay.' As Mliller 
says {Cbthe7ier Programm, pp. 16-17): ' Dort ist auch ausdrucklich von dem 
possirlichen Wesen desselben Vogels die Rede ; so hatte bei den Angelsachsen 
vielleicht derselbe Veranlassung gegeben, den Spassmacher higora zu nennen, an 
dessen Namen sceawend-sceawere Dietrich zu IX erinnert, und Grein hat nicht 
Unrecht aus den gl. Epinal 156 higrae berna, d. i. verna scurra herbeizuziehen.' 
We are therefore told in these lines that the Jay is a mime and imitates the 
speech of buffoons — in other words, that the bird possesses the power of 
mimicry. Rid. 25 is but an elaborate illustration of this idea, and merely sup- 
plements with examples the earlier riddle. 

99 The troublesome scirenige is changed by Cosijn {PBB. XXIII, 128) to 
sciernicge, which he rightly connects with scericge, 'mima,' Shrine 140. This is m 
a passage from the Martyrologitim, Oct. 19 (Herzfeld, p. 190, 9) : ' Seo (St. Pelagia) 
WKS Srest mima in Antiochea hsere ceastre — haet is scericge (MS. C.C.C. 196, 
scearecge) on urum ge^eode.' Scericge is considered by Sievers as an example of 
the feminine ending in -icge and is associated with the older sciernicge {Anglia VI, 



86 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

1 78; VII, 222). — s(•ea^vell<l■\vIsall. The meaning of this word is estabHshed by 
WW. 533, 4, ^ sc-t'<!7C'c'nt/s/')-tFi:, scurriUtas ' (MS. scari/itas), and WW. 519, 3, ' scea- 
7i>era, scurrarum.' Grein translates the line {Dic/iL) : ' der so scherzhaft ich der 
Schauenden Weisen laut nachahme.' Rather, 'in the manner of a mime, imitate 
the voices of jesters.' 

RIDDLE 10 

Dietrich's answer, ' Cuckoo' (XI, 463), has been accepted by all scholars. The 
Anglo-Saxon riddle displays some evidence of the use of Symphosius 100 (not in 
the best MSS.) in its description of the desertion oi the cuckoo by its parents 
before birth antl the adoption by another mother. lUit the chief Diotif of the 
English problem — ingratitude after fostering care — is such a departure from 
the Latin that the likenesses, such as they are, may lie simply in the nature of the 
subject. Symphosius' enigma is found in popular form in the Strassbiirgcr Rdtsel- 
biicli, 103, in Frankfurter ReterhiicliUiii (1572), cited by Dietrich, and in Reusner's 
collection (I, 275). Here Lorichius Hadamarius develops the J'o/ksrdtsel into a 
ponderous Latin version, citing not only his German original but the problem of 
Symphosius, this last under the title 'Ex Vita Aesopi.' 

If the ingratitude of the cuckoo is seldom treated in riddle-literature, it has 
been a favorite theme of natural history and folklore since the time of Aristotle. 
The words of the Stagirite in his Historia Aiiintalium (ix, 20) are almost identical 
with those of our riddler : ' The cuckoo makes no nest, but lays its eggs in the 
nest of other birds. ... It lays one egg, upon which it does not sit, but the bird 
in whose nest it lays hatches the egg and nurses the young bird; and, as they say, 
when the young cuckoo grows it ejects the other young birds, which thus perish.' 
Turner {^A~'inm Praecipuaru?n qitaritm apud Pliniitm et Aristotelem viciitio est, 
hrei'is et succincta Historia, Coloniae, 1544) gives at length Aristotle's account of 
the ' Cuculus,' and Gessner, ' De Avibus ' {Historia Animaliinn, 1554, III, 350), 
cites not only this authority and the opinions of Theophrastus, Albertus, and 
Aelian, but a famous 'declamation' ' De Ingratitudine Cuculi,' by Philip Me- 
lanchthon (compare his Declaniationes, Argentorati, 1569, pp. S7-95). Mannhardt, 
whose excellent article on ' Der Kukuk' (Wolf's Zs.f. d. M. Ill, 208-209) contains 
much valuable information, mentions a tract by Gronwall, De lugrato Cuctdo, 
Stockholm, 1631 (16 pages), which I have been unable to trace. 

The Cuckoo's ill return for the hedge-sparrow's care is not unknown to the 
poets. It is true that no reference to this is found in the Coitflictiis J'eris et 
Hiemis in Laitdein Cuculi (Riese, .liit/i. Lat. II, 145, No. 6S7), nor in Alcuin's 
lines on his lost cuckoo (Migne, P. L. CI, 104). But Chaucer, in his Parlement 
of Foules 612-613, calls his cukkow 

Thou mordrer of tlie heysiigge on the braunche 
That broghte the forth, thou rewthelees glotoun. 

And Shakespeare's frequent references to 'that ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird' 
{Henry IV, Pt. I, v, I, 60) are well known. ' Vou know, nuncle, the Hedge- 
sparrow fed the Cuckoo so long that it had it head bit off by it young' {Lear i, 4, 



NOTES 87 

235). Cf. A. iuid C. ii, 6, 28, and Litcrece 849. Harting, Ornithology of Shak- 
spere, 1S71, p. 147, and Dyer, Folk-Lore of Sliakspere, 1883, p. 105, discuss this 
scrap of unnatural history; and Hardy, ' Popular History of the Cuckoo,' Folk-Lore 
Record, II (1879), 46, gives other poetic examples of the tradition. In France 
it has become proverbial, 'Ingrat comme un coucou.' White of Selborne, Letter 
IV (Barrington), discusses at length the cuckoo's habit of depositing its eggs in 
the nests of other birds. 

Unlike Sympho.sius ('me vo.\ mea prodit '), our riddler makes no reference to 
the cuckoo's note, which elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon poetry heralds the year. Cf. 
Seaf. 53, Gu. 716, //. M. 22. 

10 1-3 Prehn, p. 169, iinds in these Hues a suggestion of Symphosius 14, Pullus 
in Ovo : 

Nondum natus erani nee eram jam matris in alvo. 
Jam posito partu, natum me nemo videbat. 

10 i'' Sievers, PBB. X, 454, regards MS. vice on Jdssitm dagion as a form of 
A-type found elsewhere in the Riddles (^ x X X | ^ X ) ; but Holthausen, Etigl. 
Stud, xxxvii, 206, would read on dagiitn J^issum or on Jiissiim dogrutn. The first 
reading is supported by Ps. 139 12, and I have adopted it. 

10 2 fa>der oiid inudor. So Sal. 445. 

10 2''-3 Cf. Gen. 90S, J)enden |>e feorh wunaS, gast on innan. 

10 3-6 Cf. Symphosius {.'), 100, 'hoc tamen educat altera mater.' 

10 4 wel hold. Ilolth. Anglia, Bb. IX. 357, would read wil/iold, but as the MS. 
phrase is here both grammatically and metrically possible {_L\J_:i_x) 1 retain 
that. — iiu'so. In proposing this (not knowing that it was the MS. reading) Cosijn 
says: 'The foster-mother is nii-ge (both belong to the bird-kind), but is not gesibb 
(1. S).' Cf. 44 14, anre magan ; 84 32, worldbearna mEge. Dr. Bright proposes wel 
hold \to\ ml' gewdtivt J^cccun. — weduin ]7('C'can. Cf. 46 4, hra;gle ^eahte. 

10 5 lieold Olid frco]7ode. Cf. I/v. 9 27, healdavN ond freoSiaS. — hieosceorpe. 
See note to 15 ii, fyrdsceorp. 

10 6 sue arlice. This is Cosijn's reading for the MS. snearlice, and it is sup- 
ported by the naturalness of the mistake of the scribe (who would not have thus 
misread swd drllce) ; and by 16 4. szue, and Leid. 1 1 , sure. — hire agen beam. For 
examples of the phrase, see Spr. I, 20, s.v. dgot. 

10 7'' Cf. Gen. 1573, swa gesceapu wjeron werum ond wifum. 

10 8 wearJf eacen giPste. Cf. Gen. looo-iooi, wearS . . . gaste eacen. 

10 <r'o Hardy, Folk-Lore RecordW, 69, cites Gisborne : 

The nurse 
Dehided the voracious nestling feeds 
With toil unceasing; and amaz'd beholds 
The form gigantic and discordant hue. 

10 9 seo frl]7e mfeg. Grein, Spr. I, 349, ■~..\.fri&, seems to ^x^i^x frihemag, 
rendering this by 'die Schiitzende' or ' Pflegemutter ' (so also Dicht.). Sweet 
accepts ///vitv// <?■<'•, which is in harmony with the context and \s\\.\i freot,ode (1. 5). 
But the meter demands frlhe ; so we are forced to accept Dietrich's reading 



8S Ki 1)1)1. i:s OK Till'; i-.xirncR r.ooK 

(XII, 251) si-0 /ri/>c- w-r;'('clie siIkuic I'"i;ui'). This is suppoiti'd l)y O.N. /rF&r 
('beautiful,' frequently of women); and by such common expressions an Ju/. 175, 
SCO ai'Sele maig; CV/r. 87, seo eadge ma3g ; i/f/i. 2226, freollce mSg. 

10 K> oppiet if aweox[o]. Althougii ,>/j/,„t is followed by the indicative else- 
where in the A'/Ji/lts (cf. 10 7-s, o|'l>.it ic . . . weariN), the meter makes a strong plea 
for Ilolthausen's reading (A'//.v/- -VZ/c./. WWII, Jo()), (l7oro.\\,-\. Then we have 
an A lype (_^ X X X | JL X ). 

10 II sij»iis asottaii. l'"nr examples of this idiom, see OieUiih, JK: ('rii. .li'tdtv, 
pp. 2-3; Sfr. 1. 41. 

KlDDLl-: 11 

1 can only repeat my discussion of this riddle in J/. /,..\'. Will, loo-ioi. To 
the problem Stopford Brooke (/.'. /,'. /.,/., p. 171), note) otiers llie titling answer 
' barnacle (loose'; and this solution is sustained by the first enigma in the col- 
lection of I'incier {^At-)iii;»i()titrn Libri 'J'lcs, llagae, 1655), which has many points 
in common with the Anglo-Saxon : 

Sum voliu ris, nam phunosuni mihi corpus et alae, 
Quaruni n-niii^id, (lunin libct, alta peto 



Setl ni.ire me i;ii;nit liiliiris sul) tei^mine conchae, 
Aut in ventre traliis i|Uani tnlit nnda. 

Solutiii: 
Anseres Scotici quos incolae (7iii- !;t/ys<- indi,i;itant ... in Iii;nis l(ini;i(ire mora 
in niari putrefactis ijignuntui. 

The tirst literary account of this fable — which caps the (piery at every line — 
is found in the 'J\'pograpltia Ilihcritiae of Giraldus Cambrensis in the last half of 
the twelfth century (Dist. i. cap. 15, ed. Dymock, Rolls Series, 1S67, \', .(7-49). 
(lir.ililus, after a U>ng ilescription, which tallies remarkably wilii the .\nglo-Sa.\on, 
declares that 'bishops and clergymen in si)me |Kuts of lrelai\d do not scruple to 
dine off these birtis at the time of f.isting because they are not tlesh nor boin of 
flesh.' With such evidence as this, we must accept Max Miiller's opinion (.SV/tv/iv 
<>/" /.r7«i,'7/(7i,v> -d Ser., 1865, pp. 552-571) that 'belief in the mir.iculous transfor- 
mation of the Barnacle Shell into the Barnacle (loose was as firmly established 
in the twelfth as in the seventeenth century.' 

Indeed, two strangely created goose-species are described by mediaeval writers : 
(i) The Tree (loose; (2) The Barnacle Goose or (Tack. The first of these is dis- 
cussed at length by Gervase of Tilbniv in his Olia Impcrialiii (1211) (ed. Lieb- 
recht, Hannover, 1856, pp. c.\.\iii, 52), by Willi. un of Matmesbury in a story of King 
Edgar {Gesta Reptm Aiiglorutn, II, § 154, Rolls Series, 18S7, I, 175), by Mande- 
ville (chap. 36), and by other writers until the tin\e of Hector Boethius {Pc.urip- 
tiou of Srothxiidy 1527, chap. 11, englished in Holinshed's Chroniilt, vol. 1), who 
declares this tree-procreation false, but affirms his belief in Barnacles or liernakes. 
The second is treated by Giraldus Cambrensis, I.e., by his contemporary, Alex- 
ander Neckam, /)<• .Witiins Ki-niin, cap. 48 (Rolls Series, 1863, p. 1)9), by Hector 



N()'i"i:s 89 

Roethius, I.e., by Turner, ATi'itnt rittfii/>. /list., 1544, s.v. ' Anser,' by Gerard, /hr- 
/'(///, 1597, p. 1391 (Brooke), and by many other authors quoted by I'incier and 
Liebrecht. E.xcellent review.s of the hi.story of the super.stitinn will hv. found in 
Max Muller, I.e., and in Ilarting's Oriiit/ioloi^y of Shakspen:, 1.S71, pp. 246-256. 

Max Mliller {^Science of La ii^i^^iiaj^e, 2d Ser., 1865, p. 564) thus translates the 
Latin of Cliraldus Cambrensis : ' /icniacae are like marsh-geese, but somewhat 
smaller. They are produced from lir limber tossed along the sea, and are at first 
like gum. Afterwards t/u-v /iiiiit^ doion hy their beaks, as if from a sea-weed at- 
tached to the timber, surrounded by shells in order to grow more freely. Having 
thus in process of time been clothed with a strong coat of feathers, they either 
fall into the water or fly freely away into the air.' This reads like a close para- 
phrase of our Anglo-Saxon text. In my refutation (J/. /-. A'. XXI, 99) of Traut- 
mann's objections to this solution (/)/>'. XIX, 1 70-1 71) I have pointed out that 
' though our riddle is several centuries earlier than Giraldus' account of the super- 
stition, this is just the sort of popular myth that might exist for hundreds of years 
among simple men before finding a scholar to record it; and, again, many accounts 
of the marvel may have perished.' 

Dietrich, XI, 463, w'ith Aldhelm's ' Famfaluca ' (iv, 11) in mind, suggested 
'Ocean-furrow' or 'Wake.' Now, while the Anglo-Saxon has little in common 
w'ith Aldhelm, it bears, at least in part, a certain resemblance to the ' Wave ' 
riddle of the ller'^arar Sai:;a {//ei&rcks Gdttir, 21, see Ileusler, Zs.d. V.f Vk. 
XI, 127), and to its derived form in modern Icelandic (Arnason, No. 6S4). But 
Brooke's solution seems in every way better, as this alone (its all the motives of 
the problem. 

Trautmann, who had earlier accepted ' Wasserblase,' supported at length in 
his BB. articles (XVII, 142, XIX, 170 f.) a new solution, 'Anchor.' But 1 have 
shown (;]/. Z.A'. XXI, 98-99) that this is based by him upon violent changes in 
the text (11 3'', 7') and perverted meanings [i>/fra). Ilolthausen's unhappy inter- 
pretation 'Water-lily' {Aii^^^lia, Bb. XVI, 228) has been refuted by Trautmann {^BB. 

XIX, 172-173)- 

II 1-3 Prehn, p. 171, compares with this Aldhelm, iv, 11 1-2: 

I)e madido nascor rorantibus aethere guttis 
Turgida, concrescens liquido dc tluniiiie lapsu. 

This is the only resemblance between the Anglo-Saxon and Latin poems. Traut- 
mann believes that neb (i a) refers to 'the spike of the anchor,' as the word is used 
of the point of the plowshare (/vV</. 22 1). But the passage finds its true analogue 
in Giraldus' account of the Barnacle Goose : ' Dehinc tamcjuam ab alga ligno 
cohaerente, conchylibus testis ad liberiorem formationem inclusae, per rostra de- 
pendent.'' Middendorf rejects Trautmann's solution i^Anglia, Bb. XVII, 109). 

II 3'' on siiiidc Swox. In order to justify his ' Anchor' solution, Trautmann 
would change this phrase to on sande grbf. He objects to the form dwox because 
it differs from the usual West Saxon preterit, dweox {Rid. 10 10", 73 i"); but the 
reading is in jjerfect harmony with the context, and the survival of such a Northern 
form (Sievers, Gr.^, § 392, n. 5) in the text of the Kiddles gives no difficulty. 

II •(' y}'«"i» J'ealit. So we are told of the Anchor, Rid. 173. 



90 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER IJOOK 

II 4-5 To say that an Anchor immersed in the water touches with its body the 
floating wood is nonsense; but the phrase exactly accords with tlie descriptions 
of the Barnacle Goose. 

II f> Haeftle feorh cwico. The phrase is used elsewhere in the AW/i/Ztw of liv- 
ing things, the Fingers (14 3') and the Siren (74 5''). — of fa'Aimiiii . . . brimes. 
Cf. 3 13, of brimes fa^t'mum. 

II (.-11 With tlie two motives of the black and white aspect of the unknown 
thing, and of its journey with the wind, compare Ilei&reks Gdtiir, 21 : 

Hadda bleika hafa I'a-r 

Enar hvitfiildnu, 
Ok eigu 1 vindi at vaka. 

II 7-8 on blacuiii hra'f;le . . . hwiti' hyrsto. I frees;! and hyrste are used of 
the plumage of the Swan {Rid. 8 r^, 4'^). The ' black ' and ' white ' coat of our sub- 
ject recalls the account of the ISarnacle in Gerarde's Ilerhhll (1597), p. 1391. as 
' having blacke legs and bill or beake, and feathers blacke and white and spotted 
in such a manner as in our Magge-Pie.' In discussing this passage Brooke says 
(p. 179, note): 'The barnacle is almost altogether in black and white. 'J"he bill 
is black, the head as far as the crown, together with cheeks and throat, is white 
— the rest of the head and neck to the breast and shoulders black. The upper 
plumage is marbled with blue-gray, black and white. The feathers of back and 
wings are black edged with white, the underparts are white, the tail black.' This 
identification is better than, with Trautmann, to regard hyrste as referring to the 
rope of the anchor, and blaciim Jiru-i^le to its tarry coat. 

II 9-" ^o in very similar riddles the air bears the Swan, 83-7, and the Swal- 
lows, 58 I (compare M. /.. A'. XXI, 99). The lines certainly cannot refer to the 
weighing of an Anchor. Brooke renders happily (p. 179) : 

When the Lift upheaved me, me a living creature, 

Wind from wave upblowing ; and as wide as far 

Hore me o'er the bath of seals — Say what is my name ! 

Trautmaini wrongly regards Ufgende as qualifying lyft. 



RIDDLE 12 

For his answer, 'Gold,' to Rid. 12, Walz has argued strongly (^Harvard Studies 
V, 261); and for the solution 'Wine' Trautmann has made out a seemingly good 
case {/>Vj. XIX, 173-176); but Dietrich's interpretation (XI, 463), 'Night,' fits 
better the various conditions of the query, as I have sought to show {M. L. X. 
XXI, 99-100), and is moreover supported by points of real likeness between 
our riddle and Aldhelm's enigma De Node (xii). That this- problem is clearly 
a companion-piece to Rid. 28, 'Mead' (12 6% 2813^; 12 -\ 2817^; 12 10, 2812), 
is, at first sight, an argument for the 'Wine' inteqjretation, but the meaning 
' Night debauch ' is quite as well suited to the vinous lines that suggest the later 
riddle. 



NOTES 91 

12 I Walz cites Grein's Spr. II, 14, to show that hasofdg is a proper epithet of 
gold. Trautm.inn, in his note on Ilasu {BB. XIX, 216-218), comljats tlie hitherto 
received meanings of the word 'fulvo-cinereus, wolfgrau iind adlergrau ' (Dietrich, 
I/au/'ls Zs. X, 346) and ' graubraun ' (Sievers, Gr."^, % 2,°°)> a""^ ^^^^^ ^^ P^'o^'^ 
that it can mean only ' glanzend ' and that therefore hasofdg is inapplicable to 
Night. As I have said {M. L. X. XXI, 100), even if we grant that this is the 
exclusive meaning, we must not forget that 'Night's mantle' in poetry may be 
' shining ' or ' gleaming ' {Met. 20 229) as well as ' azure ' or ' sable.' But in the 
light of the words that this adjective qualifies — eagle, smoke, dove, etc. — we 
cannot grant this. Ihisu seems to have the later connotation of glanciis ' grayish,' 
to which indeed it corresponds, Rid. 41 61''. The Latin word is a synonym of 
CiFrtilus {Harper's Latin Dictionary, s. v. glaucns) ; and, as Dietrich has noted (XI, 
463), cartila is the very adjective used by Aldhelm to describe Nox in his riddle 
upon that subject (xii, 6). Or again, hasu or hasupdd is an epithet of the eagle, 
{Rid. 254, Brtin. 62), elsewhere called salotvigpdda {Jud. 211), which Professor 
Trautmann could not define as ' shining.' The epithet 'gray' is eminently appro- 
priate to smoke {Rid. 2 7) or to the dove {Gen. 14 51). 

Dietrich shows that hasofdg applies well to the raiment of Night, and that 
hvrste is used elsewhere in Old English poetry {Gen. 956, 2189) for stars. Traut- 
mann believes that the first lines suggest the garment of the wine, whether that 
be ' der schlauch, das fass, der krug, der becher, der kelch.' The opening passage 
(1-2) seems to me to describe far better a starry night than a golden beaker. 
Compare Shelley's lines ' To Night ' : 

Wrap thy form in a mantle gray, 
Star-inwrought. 

12 3-5 Dietrich, Grain, and Wlilker close the first clause with tmr^dsihas. Herz- 
feld, who follows their pointing, supplies (p. 68) [<w] before the final word ; and 
Klaeber (/f //i-//</, Bb. XVII, 300) avoids emendation by regarding nnnedsiMs as 
gen. sing. (Sievers, Gr.\ § 237, n. i), dependent upon h-.veite which seems to govern 
the accusative of person and genitive of thing, although the latter construction 
does not appear elsewhere. This reading accords with Dietrich's translation 
(XI, 463): '(Sie) reizt die thorichten zum unrathgang, andern aber wehrt (sie) 
nutzliche fahrt.' Trautmann closes the first clause with h-wette for the sake of the 
antithesis in hne 3 between dysge dioelle and dole hwette. Setting aside Herzfeld's 
conjecture as unmetrical, he suggests rather doubtfully unricdsTha and renders 
lines 4-5'' thus, ' Andren wehr ich unratgange durch niitze fahrt.' 

123 <lolp Invette. Klaeber claims for dol the especial meaning of 'dumm- 
dreist, leichtsinnig, vorschnell, kopflos,' not as B.-T. renders, ' the dull.' According 
to Klaeber, the whole passage then carries this sense : ' Ich reize an zu torichtem 
beginnen und halte ab von nutzlichem tun.' This interpretation, he believes, ac- 
cords with Trautmann's answer, ' Wine,' which receives further support from Mod. 
iSi.,J>onne win h7oete& \ beorttes breostsefan. I am not in agreement with any of 
these views. I close the clause with tuirwdsthas, but I see no reason for regard- 
ing this as a genitive, or for assuming, what is nowhere found, an acc.-of-theperson- 
and-gen.-of-the-thing construction with hwette. Dole unr^dsij>as is the direct object 



92 



Ki 1)1)1. i:s oi" 11 1 1: i:.\i:'i'i:R hook 



of liii'iitc (st'c /hi/it.. 'loll i'm'i;<' ii li uiii.illiw i'i;<' '). ,iiul (lu' passagi.' may he vcn- 
dcioil 'I luisk-ail the loolish aiul inslii;alc lasli impiolilalile louiscs.' Sec WW. 
SoS, .|, /xf (/('/(/// iiVi/iis, 'stdliila ((iiiSMlla.' 

12 -IS oIjimmu s(yn> | iiyKro fore. 'I'liis is wrongly iiMiiliMcd by 'rraiitiiianii, 
wlio luistaki'iily imliult-s iiiirtTi/si/uts in this claiisi', and l>y .S'/-/ . 11, |«)i, s,\. 
stvr. Dicht. tiaiislaU's '.Anderc fiilue ich /u niit/lichercni Laiifc' 'This iwactly 
reverses the proiK-r nuMning (st-o Klaeber): '1 restrain olheis finni a useful 
course.' As Shipley poinis out (p. 56), sti>rii>i Mo restrain' is followed by dat. 
of person and gen. of thing. C'f. Crwft. 105, he niissenlice iiionna cynne gielpcs 
styre.N. 

Lines v »^ seem to me in ])erfeit atroiil with Pietiirh's solution. Night may 
well piovoke fools to tleeds of dcbaueh and crime, .md deter others from ;i 
useful ( ourse. Hv re.ison of its evil w.iys, it m.iv well be praised by drunken 
ie\eievs (5I1 Sa; if. llu- next riddle, 13.1, tU'l ii'ntii,»tt-nitc'it iiii'i\iini >:i/ttii»i)y 
.md In logues ( Aldhehn .\ii, 0, .\'i'.i ; ' Hiii l.itrones me semper amare soleb.mt "). 
W.d,' tinds lu'ie tiie m.uUlening effect of gold (if. 1 Tim, \i,i)-io). 

12 (,!■ iiumI«' l)es<(»U>iu'. C'f. 28 i.r', strengo bistoleii ; (/(•;/. 1571), ferhNe forstolen 
(the drunken Noah). 

127' tli»'«Io •"t'dwoleiio. Traulm.mn (/•■/>'. \1X, 1 ;()) cites////. 11;,, iLTdiim 
i,vy.-i '<'/(■•//(• ; but, while he .ulmits th.it tlu' me.ming in that place is 'die in ihrem 
tun irrendei\,' he iiileip;ets the present passage as 'in ihrem tvm gehemmt,' com- 
paring 28 i.|, m.i'gene beiuimen. 

127-8 «IPora]» iiiiiio I >\<»ii \\isaii <;eli\vaiii. 1 i.msl.ite ' Tluy pi.iise to every 
oi\e my evil (eiooked) w,iys.' iJiein, .s//-. ll.yjo, strangely combines w.'s.ii/ and 
j;y/i7(<(J//i, as the i'i|ni\,dent of i/iii>7'is iniu/o, ' auf jeder W'eise ' ; but in J''u''.(. he 
renders the i)hrase rightly. 

12 s'' Cf. lly. 1 (>, wil him I'.Y'ie mirigiNe 1 

12 .1-10 I agree with Dietrich th.it o b, horda drortist, refers to the sun, and that 
the line describes the coming of the day; and accept in this corrupt jiassage 
t'osijn's spirited re.iding //<•(/// /j/vV/^v^ (/'/<" A". Will, I jS) inste.ul ol Tnut 
m, inn's ':t\:i nt l'iii!^<-l\', which seems to me tame and prosaic, ri.uilm. inn's e\ 
pl.iii.ilion of the closing lines of the poem is .is unfoitun.ite ,is his interpret. Uion 
of the opening passage. It is h.iiil to belii\e th.it horda drorasl refers to the com- 
munion wine (why should lh.it biing li.iimi') .md that nvttre fore (5 a) is intended 
also to suggest the Eucharist (but th.it rendering was based on mistranskition). 
Wal/ suggests that horda dcoiast indicates 'the word of Cod'; Dr. Bright, 'the 
soul.' Knt let us remember that in the poetry ,v'//" 'gem' is a frequent metaphor 
for the sun. .md that Iwid.t dcoitist carries much the same idea as ^^iiiinui i;/,idos/ 
(sun), /•';■. jSo. 

12 » jM-liifioO'. Kl.ieber, .h;x//\i. A'A. W. ;,.|-, notes th.it the verb /,ri//x,i't, 
'jiress on,' 'force one's w.iv,' is .ulmii.iblv fitted to (///. I-55'', I'long niht ofer tiht. 
.IS .ilso in (/(•;/. 1 ^<i, I'l.ing hystre genip. It h.is likewise been .ipplied to the com- 
ing of the morning: 'der Tag dringt eilends. un.iufii.ilts.im \oi,' M. 11. (I. dei t.ic 
begund herdringen ((irimm, J'trii/.u/ic Mvt/toL'xi<:*, Oji.Ojo). 

12 10 Cf. 28 w, gif he unrx'des xv ne geswTceiN; ////. 120. gif I'ii iini.vdes .T-r ne 
geswicest ; /.V. 51(1, ond l>.vs unrihtes eft geswicav^'. See ller/feld, ji. n). 



N()'ii;s 93 

Kini'ii'. i:! 

This ]5i()l)lciii of 'Oxhide ' nr * I.ciitlici ' (liio iinswcr accepted l)y all antliniitius) 
is the liist ol ;i ( ycli! of Aiij^Io Saxon riddles of similar motives. l\iil. 39, 'N'ounn 
Ihdl,' is only .1 iihui' |iiili\ .111(1 i|iij.;ramiiialii expiessioii ol I he ' li\ in;; and dead ' 
contrast in llu- Inst and I.inI lims of Rid. 13; A'/i/. 27 di-sriil.cs in ils cailirr lines 
the tannin); of llii' skin; wliilc /v'/i/. 72 picsenis in dcl.iil llu' lilc an<l l.d)ors of 
the ox. I lie liilin analoj^uc-s aic many. Syniplmsiir, yi, I h- (\i/irii, indii aii-s the 
contrast Ixiween the li\e anini.d .md oni^ ti'.c made of ils skin; Aldliclm, />(: 
lUn'e sh'c t/v JiiTtiiii) (iii, 11), pirsmis tin- tlnnns ol ilie foui nourishinf; foun- 
tains, and tlie unlike fates <>f the livinj; and di;id o.\, thai ( (impose A'id. 39; and 
the words of luisehius, 57, are so simil.ii lo the Anglo Saxon that both j'.herl 
(p. 50) and I'rehn (p. 215) have wrongly tonnd the source of the close of A'/i/. 39 
in the Latin : 

.Si vixciii, rinnpcrc < (illcs 
Iri( ipi.iMi, vivos iiKiiiciis ailt allied iiiiillds. 

Other l.iiin riddles of tlu; Old I'jiglish period furnish ipiile as close parallels (see 

.1/. /.. ,\. WMIl, 91;) to /\'/</. 131-1, M-i5i ;Uld />'/</. 39. liede, /-'loii'S, No. viii, 

gives the following (cf. MoiL /'Jul. II, 562); 'Vidi lilinm intci (piattnoi lontes 
nutritum ; si vivus fuit, disin])it montcs; si morlims Inil, alhg.ivil vivos.' The 
i.orsch (oll((tion ol the ninlii (cnlni) (No 11) presents the s.imc motives with 
greater ilet;dl (Mai. /'/ii/., !.(.); and llicy appear later in I'.rit. Mas. MS. Hiirney 
59 (eleventh century), fol. 1 1 1>; 

I )uiu jiivcnis tui, (|iiattii(ir Ionics siccavi ; 
Cum autein sciaii, moiitcs et valles versavi ; 
Post mortem mean), vivos lioiiiines lij^avi. 

As our riddler tells us (39 O. ll'e motive ( ame to him l>y word of mouth. Kiddk's 
very similar to these Anglo Saxon and i.atin versions app(;ar in many modern 
collections. I note parli( uhirly the IVIei:kIenl)urg riddle (W'ossidlo 76): 

As ik liitt wicr, kiimi ik vicr dwinncn | A'/i/. 39 ( .|J ; 

As ik groot wier, kiinn ik liiinel un harg iinivvriiineii 1 13 1-/, 39 '>] ; 

As ik doot wier, iiiiisst ik vor fiirslcii im lierreii up de tafel statin [13 5 'i|, 

I'll init (Ic hruiit m;i'ii (l.iii/sii.il y,.\\\\\ |l3'' /]. 

rf. Simrotk'', J). 33; Kckarl (Low Ccrman), Nos. 5.S5, 586; Reidi (Tyrol), /,.':.</. 
/'. /. / ■/(•. V, I 15, No. 6,S ; S(hlei( hei ( I .ilhu.inian), pp. 205, 207, 'A Is i( h klcin war, 
beherrschte i( h viere | /I'/V. 39,r.i|; als i( h erwa( hscn, vvarf i( h Hergc; hin nnd her; 
als ich geslorhen war, ging ich in die Kin he' To all these 1 may add the I'.nglish 
•Cow' riddle (//'// Xm'/y ReTiTcd, Newcastle, 17.S0, p. 20): 

While I did live, I food did Kivc, 
Which many one did daily (;at. 
Now Ix-'ing (lead, you see tliey tread 
Me under feet ahout the street. 



94 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



All articles made of leather came within the province of the Anglo-Saxon 
shoewright (/Elfric's Colloquy, WW. 97): ' Ic bicge hycla and fell and gearkie 
hig mid ii;vfte minon and wyrce of him gescy mistlices cynnes swyftleras and 
sceos, le|>erhosa (caligas) and butericas (utres), bridellnvancgas and gerieda, flaxan 
vel pinnan (flascones) and higdifatu, spurlel>era (calcaria) and ha^lftra, pusan and 
fStelsas, and nan eower nele oferwintran buton minon crrefte.' The preparation 
of leather in Old English times is discussed l)y Ileyne, Fi'utf Bitchcr, III, 207-212 ; 
and Tvlump, A/(eii^s^/ist/ie Handwerknixmen, pp. 20-22, 64-73. ^he Oxanliyrdc 
{^Rectitudhies Siiigularum Pcrsoiianim, 1 2, Thorpe, A. L. p. 1 88 ; Schmid, p. 380) is 
allowed to pasture two oxen or more with his lord's herd: ' Earnian mid i^fun 
scos Olid ,i:^fd/a him sylfuni.' 

13 i-.( Cf. 39 6-7, and Aklhflni iii, i i -,-7 : 

Vivens nam terrae glebas cum stirpibus imis 
Nisu virtutis validae disrumpo feraccs : 
At vero linquit dum spiritus algida membra, 
Nexibus horrendis homines constringere possum. 

The use of the hide for bonds is, however, a motive common to all riddle-poetry 
o{ the time (sii/^iui). 

13 I ft>l(Iaii slTto. For other references to jilowing, see 13 i.(, 22 (Plow), 
39 (., 72 12-iv 

132' j^rfMic ■\voii{»-as. So 67 5, 6"^//. 1657 ; cf. JAv/. 206, wangas grene. Cf. also 
41 51, S3, I'C's wong grcna. 

13 2'' Cf. 21 8, gSstberend. 

133 Cf. Seaf. 94, I'onne him |>a^t feorg losaN. — fjrsto biiKlc. l?rooke {E. E. 
/a., ]•>. 151, note) makes the strange mistake of supposing a reference to the bind- 
ing power of the liquor in the leather jug or black-jack, instead of to the bonds 
mentioned in all such riddles (su/'rii). 

13 4' sweartc Woalas. For a discussion of the dark h.iir of the servant-class, 
see note to 138 [-voiift-ax U'lih:). The meter indicates clearly a long vowel in 
Il'Pd/its (see Gc-it. 2706, wealandum), while it permits <? in 138, wonfeax Wale; 
53(1, wonfah Wale; 72 n, mearcpal>as Walas tra:d ; ll'i'ds. 7S, ond Wala rices (cf. 
Sievers, /'/>/>'. X, 487 ; Ilerzfeld, pp. 49, 54, 58 ; Madrrt, p. 21). There thus seem 
to be, side by side, a long and a shortened form of the word, — a safer view than 
to regard, despite the evidence, all cases as short with Iler/.feld, or as long with 
Madert (see Sievers, Gr.^ 21S). 

13 5-6 Cf. the mention of 'butericas (utres) . . . flaxan vel pinnan (flascones) and 
higdifatu' — all leather drinking vessels — in /Elfric's Colloquy {supra), and the 
brief description of the leather bottle in Rid. 20. For the employment of cups of 
hide, see the Mecklenburg riddle already cited. In 806, the drinking-horn bears 
mead in its bosom. 

13(1-7 Symphosius (56) pictures the hard service of leather in shoes: 

.Sed ninic exaniniis l:icorat;>, ligata, rcvulsa, 
OL'dita sum terrae, tuniulo sed condita noii sum. 

The likeness of the two riddles is in motif, not in treatment. 



NOTES 95 

13 6'' liwTlmii iiiec bryd triedo'A. Fairholt {Costtttne in England, 1885, II, 59) 
bases his account of tlie shoes (jf tlie Anglo-Saxons upon the illustrations in the 
Durham Book and MS. Cott. Tib. C. VI (see Strutt, I/orda Ant^elcynna, pi. xxiii) : 
' They appear in general to have been made of leather and were usually fastened 
beneath the ankles with a thong. . . . The Saxon shoe took the form of the .san- 
dal, being cut across the front into a series of openings somewhat resembling the 
thongs which secured it.' On the same evidence Strutt asserts {Horda, p. 47): 
'Both men and women wore shoes, or rather slippers [WW. 125,27, Baxeae, 
wi/ds sceos']. The legs of the men were covered half-way up with a kind of 
bandage or else a strait stocking reaching above the knee; they also wore a 
sort of boots which were curiously ornamented at the top.' Moritz Heyne, Filnf 
Biic/ier III, 262-26S, notes that in the shoes of the early Germanic peoples the 
hair-side of the skin was turned outward. 

13 8'^ ■\vonfea.x Wale. The dark coloring of the menial Welshwoman is men- 
tioned elsewhere in the Kiddles (53 6'^, wonfah Wale), and three times the swarthy 
complexion of the servant class is named as a distinguishing feature : 13 4, swearte 
Wealas (here opposed to sellan met/) ; 50 4-5, se wonna j'cgn, sweart ond saloneb ; 
72 lo", sweartum hyrde (see Brooke, /'.'./.'./,//., p. 136). Tiiat U'calh is used in 
the meaning of ' servus ' is naturally explained by the position which the old in- 
habitants of Britain held under the Anglo-Saxon rule (Schmid, Gesetze, p. 673, 
Glossar, s. v.). So, as the word slave was derived from the name of a people, 
ivealh was applied, without regard to origin, to bondmen who were, however, 
largely of Celtic or pre-Celtic blood. ' In early times, the women-servants {IVale) 
and menials about the yeoman's or gentleman's house were absolute slaves and 
were bought and sold as cattle' (Powell in Traill's Social England I, 125). Grant 
Allen points out {Anglo-Saxon Britain, p. 56) that while 'the pure Anglo-Saxons 
were a round-skulled, fair-haired, blonde-complexioned race, the Celts had mixed 
largely in Britain with one or more long-skulled, dark -haired, black-eyed and brown- 
complexioned races.' The coloring of the subject people was held in contempt : 

In the old age, black was not counted fnir, 
Or, if it were, it bore not beauty's name. 

Weinhold, Altnordisclies I.eheii, p. 182, shows that the same attitude toward 
dark hair existed among the Scandinavians : 'Schwafzes Har achtete man dagegen 
fiir hasslich ; denn es warfremd und dem Volksinne entgegen. Die dunkle Haut- 
farbe, die gewbhnlich dabei ist, das finstere Aussehn, der stjirkere Bartwuchs gaben 
dem schwarzen nach dem herschenden Geschmack etwas widerliches. Wir haben 
schon friiher gesagt, dass man sich die unfreien schwarz dachte.' This feeling, and 
the fact that there could be dark complexion in the best Scandinavian blood, are 
attested by the story of Geirmund Ileljarskin's childhood {Landnainabok ii, 19; 
Sturhinga Saga i, 1-2). In his excellent discussion of the German dislike of dark 
and love of fair skins, Gummere, Germatiic Origins, pp. 59 f., compares our names 
Fair/ax (fair-hair) and its oppo.site, Colfax. I shall discuss the Anglo-Saxon regard 
for long blonde hair in my note to Rid. 41 98 (43 3 hiintloc, see 80 4). 

13 8-11 Prehn, p. 176, thus explains these obscure lines: 'Vielleicht bezeichnet 
ersteres ein Wamms und deutet auf den Geliebten der schwarzlockigen Welschen 



96 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

hill, u.s.w.' However that may be, he is certainly right in regarding the allusion 
as obscene. Unlike Trehn, 1 find only one, nol two motives in this passage. 

13 s'' ^vese'fl oiul ]>y<>'. Ci. 22 5, wegeS mec ond ]>y'S. 

13 9 dol (IriiiK'iiUMiiicii. ]5udde, J)/'e Bedetitiiiii:; dcr Triiiksittcn, p. 86, regards 
the phrase as a mere ' Umschreibung durch Trinkwendungen,' since a drunken 
woman appears nowliere else in Anglo-Saxon literature. 15udde finds a like peri- 
phrase in 61 <). — (Icorc'uin iiihtiiin. So Bcdo. 275. 

13 10' wiT'tcO' ill -wa-tiH'. Cf. 27 2-3, wiCtte sihj'an | dyfde on wajtre {ski)i 
or hi lie). 

13 11' fiegre to fyrc. Cosijn (/'/>/>. XXIII, 128) opposes yir;^'7v to dcomtm 
ni/itum {}.()), and compares yt;4,'-;v, 'diluculo,' ////■<■ .x.xiv, i (Rushworth). iUit the 
sense of 'fitly,' 'properly,' is so commonly associated with the adverb (cf. 51 .s, 
544) that one can hardly accept Cosijn's suggestion. As the illustrated MSS. 
show (see particularly the calendar pictures of MS. Cott. Tib. H. V), the fire was 
in the middle of the Anglo-Saxon hall. 

13 ii''-i3 For an interesting analogue to this 'glove' motif, see the coarse riddle 
of Puttenham's old nurse {Arte of Kiti^lish Poesie, 1587, Book iii, Arber reprint, 
p. 198). Notice the important part played by the glove in the next riddle, 14. 
Strutt./Jrc-yj and Habits of the People of Euglaitd, 1S42, p. 45, makes the mistake of 
declaring that ' there is not the faintest indication of gloves in the various draw- 
ings that have fallen under my inspection.' But, as Planche (editor's note) points 
out, there is an instance in Ilarl. MS. 290S, engraved in his History of British 
Costume, p. 34, fig. b. See the description of the glove of Grendel {Beow. 2086 f.): 

(ilOf hangode 
sId ond sylllc. searolx'iulum fa^st, 
slo wa-s or|>()iiruni call gegyrwed 
deotles cra^ftiun ond dracan fellum. 

13 ii''-i2^ Barnouw, p. 218, thus comments: ' Bemerkenswert is die stelle, 
13 ii^'-i2''', wo ein schwaches absolutes adj. ohne artikel, hygegdlan, vorliegt ("der 
kecken hand," iibers. Grain) ; wenn die lesart richtig ist, und ich sehe keinen grund 
sie zu beanstanden, beweist die stellfe dass das dreizehnte riitsel sehr alt ist, aus 
einer zeit vor der abfassung der hauptmasse des Beow. herriihrend.' But, as Pro- 
fessor Kittredge says, ' the occasional retention of an old construction in poetry 
is no proof of antiquity.' 

RIDDLE 14 

This riddle I have already cxjilained (J/. /.. ^A'. XVIII, loi). I'>arly scholars, 
Wright {Biog. Brtt. Lit. I, 80), and Klipstein {Aiialeita A//i;/o-Saxo//iai II, 443) 
agree upon the solution 'Butterfly Cocoon'; and Grein {Germania X, 308) an- 
swers ' Raupe aus der Familie der Spanner (Palaenodea oder Geometrae).' In 
favor of these interpretations there is no evidence. Dietrich (XI, 464) suggests 
'The 22 Letters of the Alphabet,' and points to Aldhelm iv, 1. But there are at 
least three strong objections to this solution: (1) Of the unknown creatures appear 
only ' ten in all — six brothers anil their sisters with them ' ; and Dietrich, by his 



NOTES 97 

reference to the vowels and their accompanying consonants in secret script, does 
not cope successfully with the numerical difficulty. (2) 'Their skins hung on the 
wall.' That the 'skin' is the parchment Dietrich tries to convince us by citing an 
Alijhabet riddle of a Heidelberg MS. of the fifteenth century (Mone, Qiullen n. 
ForscliHiigetiy p. 120): ' Es hat ein teil in leder genist,' — and by changing for his 
purpose 'teil' to 'fell.' But this sort of circular reasoning is seldom effective. 
(3) 'Bereft of their robe . . . they tear with their mouths the gray leaves' could 
hardly be said of letters. Indeed in many German Volksrdtsel we are distinctly 
told (Wossidlo, No. 469) : ' Sie (d. h. Buchstaben) essen nichts, sie trinken nichts.' 
Cf. Eckart, .\\L Rdtsel, Nos. 387, 999; Renk (Tyrol), Zs. d. V.f. J'k. V, 157, 
No. 164. In a word, the solution is far-fetched. 

The key to the problem is presented by /'Yores, No. 2 : ' Vidi filium cum matre 
viauducatitem cujus pellis pendebat in pariete,' where the 'mother' is evidently 
the pen, the ' son ' the hand, and the ' skin ' the glove. Several near analogues 
to Bede's riddle have been discussed by me, Mod. Phil. II, 563. I note two 
riddles of the St. Gall MS. 196 (Schenkl, p. iS): 'Vidi hominem ambulantem 
cum matre sua et pellis ei pendebat in pariete,' and ' Vidi mulierem flentem et 
cum quinque filiis currentem cujus semita erat via et pergebat valde plana cam- 
pestria' \Rid. 14 i, n]. This second riddle points to the pen, the five fingers, and 
the leaves of parchment. The motive appears again in the Lorsch enigmas of 
English origin. No. 8 (I)iimmler I, 20): 

En video subolem propria cum matre morantem 
Mandre cujus pellis in pariete pendet adhaerens. 

So, in our riddle, the ten creatures are the fingers — the six brothers being the 
larger, the four sisters tlie little fingers and thumbs. Since both the Latin and 
Anglo-Saxon queries suggest stuff drawn from the people, it is not surprising that 
]'olksrdtsel 2l.\& full of parallels. In popular riddles the fingers are always brows- 
ing animals. Note Frischbier (Prussia), Zs. f. d. Ph. XXIII, 248, No. 73, ' Fif 
Zege frete von einem Hupe' (Fingers of spinning hand); Simrock'', p. 67, ' Dasr 
gungen tein Tatem | Um einen Busck matern'; id., p. 103, 'Zehn Schjiflein fressen 
an einen Heuhaufen ' (see Petsch, p. 135). And the glove ever hangs on the 
wall. Compare Renk, Zs.d. V.f. Vk. V, 158, No. 170: 

Was hangt an der Wand 
Wie Totenhand ? 

(Handschuli.) 

And see Simrock''', p. 70: 

Es hiinget wott an der Wand 

Un lett offe'ne Daudemanns Hand. 

Of Trautmann's solution, 'Ten Chickens' (/>'/>. XIX. 177 f.), I can only repeat 
what I have said (J/. L. N. XXI, 100) : ' His arguments seem to me unconvincing. 
To claim that the "skin, which hangs on the wall" (3-4) is not the glove of folk- 
riddles of all times {supra), but "the film that clings to the inner surface of the 
egg-shell after the hatching," is to reason far too quaintly and totally without the 



98 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

warrant of Eusebius, No. 38, who says nothing of " wall " ; and to interpret haswe 
blide (i4 9'0 as "eggs in an advanced state of incubation" is surely a curious con- 
ceit. Then, too, his treatment of the numbers " si.x " and "ten" (1-2) seems 
arbitrary. In my opinion he has failed throughout to prove his case in the light 
of either logic or tradition.' 

141 turf tredaii. See also 14 n'', lond tredan. This is paralleled by the 
Latin description of pen and parchment, 'pergebat plana campestria' (St. Gall 
MS. 196). In justice to Trautmann's solution, it must be noted that somewhat 
similar phrases are found in the Bird enigmas : 8 i, hrusan trede ; 58 5, treda'5 
bearonai.ssas. — ealra. Cosijn {PBB. XXIII, 12S) renders rightly ' im ganzen,' 
and adds 'die raife hat also 6 + 4 fiisse.' 

143 liii'lVlon foorg c^vico. Cf. 116, hxfde feorh cwico ; 745, haefde fer'S 
cwicu. — Ft'lL It is easy to identify glove with skin, as in Bede's Flores, No. 2, 
and in the I.orsch Kiddle, No. S. Cf. Betno. 2088, glof gegyrwed dracan fellum. 

14 4 sweotol Olid gcsyne. So 40 3. Cf. Geii. 2S06, sweotol is ond gesene ; 
Men. 129, swutelra ond gesynra; .///(/. 565, sweotulra ond gesynra. In his note 
to this last passage, Krapp, p. 1 1 1, points to the freijuent appearance of the phrase 
in Wulfstan's Horn., p. 159, 1. 5 ; p. 163, 1. 14. — on sclos -wa'se. Cf. And. 714, on 
seles wage ; 1493, under sa^hvage. Cf. also 15 11-12, hongige ... on wage. 

14 5 f. In these lines the riddler tells us that the fingers are none the worse for 
being deprived of their .skins, the gloves, which are renewed, donned again, when 
the work of the hands is done. Haswe hlede (9 a) certainly does not describe ' ein 
mehre wochen lang bebriitetes ei ' (Trautmann, />'/>'. XIX, 179-1S0), but refers 
clearly to the leaves of the manuscript on which the hands are browsing {supra). 

14 7 reafe lu'rotViie. Cf. Ilildebraiidslied 57, rauba birahanen. 

14 II Cf. A)td. S01-S02, geweotan . . . niearcland tredan. 



RIDDLE 15 

Dietrich (XI, 464) gives an e.vcellent summary of this riddle: ' Das IioDi redet 
in nr. 1 5 von sich als einstigem kampfer (auf clem haupte des stiers oder auer- 
ochsen), dann beschreibt es sich als das kriegshorn, als trinkhorn, als jagdhorn, 
als sclimuck des schiffes (Jiornscip), endlich als liirmhorn womit der dieb ver- 
folgt wird.' 

Prehn. pp. 25S f., regards tliis problem as the first of a cycle of Horn riddles 
(cf. Kid. 88, 93), and seeks to trace the indebtedness of these to Eusebius 30, De 
Atrameittorio. But Kid. 15 has absolutely nothing in common with these Anglo- 
Saxon enigmas ; and from the nature of the theme and the exigencies of treat- 
ment its first half-line, Ic zvivs iv^peinoiga, may well have originated independently 
of Eusebius 30 1-2 : 

Armorum fueram vice, meque tenebat in armis 
Fortis, et armigeri gestabar vertice tauri. 

Miiller (C P., pp. 18-19) '^^'i^ 'hs first to point out the likeness between this 
riddle and Kid. 80 in treatment and solution (see also Herzfeld, p. 5). The 



NOTES 



99 



parallel passages in the two were noted by Trautmann independently in his BB. 
article (XIX, 206). Ihviliun clauses, the closing formula, and one or two motives 
are common to both. See notes to Rid. 80. 

Padelford, Olii English Musical Terms, pp. 54-56, cites many illustrations of 
blast-homs and trumpets from Strutt's and Westwood's plates. From these we 
infer that blast-horns were used for many purposes : to summon guests to a feast, 
as in the April illustration of the Saxon calendar (Tib. B. V, Strutt, Horda, pi. x; 
cf. Kid. 15 I6-I7''); in the harvest field (June); in the woods by swineherds (Sep- 
tember); and to stir warriors to battle, as in the attack upon a walled town, MS. 
Harl. 603, f. 25 V. (cf. Rid. 15 4-6, 13-15) or to single combat (Cott. Cleop. C. VIII, 
Strutt, pi. iv, 2). 

The war-horn, — friollc fyrdsceorp (15 13 ; Qom^zx& fyrdrinces gefara, 80 2), — 
which is called elsewhere tru&horn or gu&korii or fyhiehorn, is to be distin- 
guished from the byme or tuba, which, if we may judge from the many drawings of 
battle-scenes, was often not a horn proper, but a long trumpet, either curved 
or straight (Cott. Cleop. C. VIII, f. 27 r. ; Add. 24199, f.29 r.): Beotu. 2944, horn 
ond bynian ; Ph. 134, ne byman ne hornas ; Domesdieg 109, horn ne byman. 

Drinking-horns appear frequently in the illuminations. In the April feast of 
the calendar (Tib. B. V; Jul. A. VI), a servant is filling a horn from a pitcher. 
In Cotton Claudius B. IV are several pictures of banquets with drinking-horns 
(ff. 31 r., 35 r., 57 r., 63 r.) ; and in Cleopatra C. VIII, f. 20 v., are found many 
designs of these. On the Bayeux Tapestry figures drink from horns similar to 
those in the grave-finds. The Taplow Horn in the Anglo-Saxon room of the 
British Museum holds about three pints or a half-gallon ; and, not being fur- 
nished with feet, could not be set down without spilling the liquor. Other 
noble horns of Anglo-Saxon date are those in York Cathedral and at Queen's 
College, Oxford, and the famous Pusey Horn, by which land was held {Arc/i<ro- 
logia XXIV, 217; Hodgetts, Older England, 1884, pp. 105 f.). Sharon Turner, 
VII, chap, vi, notes among many such bequests, that two buffalo horns appear in 
Wynfleda's will, and that the Mercian King Witlaf gave to Croyland the horn of 
his table ' that the elder monks may drink thereout at festivals and remember the 
soul of the donor.' 

15 '-.i> 7i '■ '^o the adornments of the horn the magnificent specimen in the 
British Museum from the Taplow excavations of 18S3 gives ample evidence 
(Hodgetts, Older England, pp. 105 f., ' The Horn '). The mouthpiece is rich with 
silver gilt [15 2'', golde ond sy If re'], which is elaborately ornamented, and its other 
mountings are bronzed. I observe in the same case many silver tabs from drinking- 
horns, engraved with human heads. Sharon Turner, VII, chap, vi, notes the men- 
tion in Dugdale's Monasticon (1655), p. 40, of 'three horns worked with gold and 
silver.' Schultz, Das hofische Leben, 1879, I, 324, cites from Horn et Riinen/iild, 
1. 4152, a description of a golden drinking-horn richly adorned with precious stones. 

15 - p;ol<l<* ond sylfre. Cf. Gen. 1769, golde ond seolfre ; so Bs. 1 13 12. 

15 3 IIwTluiii ■\vera9 cyssa'ff. Cf. 31 6, mec weras ond wTf wlonce cyssaX {cup 
or cross); 64 4-5 mec . . . cysseS . . . esne {beaker). 

15 4-7 For the use of the horn in war, see the discussion above, and note such 
passages from the poetry as Bcouk 1433, guShorn galan; 1424-1425, horn stundum 



TOO RIDDLES OF THE EXETIOR 1500K 

song I fusllc f[yicl]-lco<N (cf. 15 13, fyrdsceorp; 80 .•, fyidrinces gefara). Our liddler 
in Rid. 15 4-7 emphasizes the use of the war-horn, both on land and sea, for it is 
certainly not the ltor>iscip of Andreas, 274, as Dietrich supposed, that he has in 
mind (11. 6a-7). Ilorns were frequently blown at sea. In one of the pictures of 
the IJayeux Tapestry, a figure in the stern of a ship sounds upon a horn ; and in 
the Forntncinna Sogur II, 300, King Olaf signals with a horn to his ships. The 
oil herges ende^Zo'i, and the several references to the horse on which the horn 
is borne (15 5-6, 14, 80 7), suggest that the poet is thinking not of the trumpeter 
but of the leader of the troop. Cf., however, /-,'/. 53 f . : 

NW'rod \v;fs on tyhte, 
hieowon hornboran, hreopaii friccan, 
niearh nioldan trs'd, etc. 

156 iii(>rolieiif!;«'st. The word — indeed the whole passage, with its sugges- 
tion of fighting by land and sea — suggests the comment of Merbach, Das Mcer 
etc., p. ^T)-. ' Unter den Um.schreibungen die aus dem Drange nach miiglichst 
poetischer Bezeichnung des Schiffes hervorgegangen sind, fallen vor allem die- 
jenigen ins Auge, die, kiihn personifizierend, das Schiff als Flutenross darstellen. 
Es ist dies wieder ein Punkt, wo im Geiste der angelsachsischen Dichtung Kriegs- 
und Seeleben sich beriihren : wie der Krieger auf ungestiimem Streitrosse zum 
Kampf ausreitet, so der Seefahrer auf unbandigem Wogenrosse zum wilden 
Streit mit Wind und Wellen.' Merbach cites as synonyms britnheugest {And. 
513, Rini. 47, 66), sitndlieiigest {C/ir. 853, 863), -iiulg/u'iigest {El. 236, Cii. 1303), 
faro&Jiengest {El. 226), merehengest {Met. 26 26), sUheiigest {And. 488), J>/>mearh 
{IF/iale, 49, C/ir. S64), s^mearh {El. 245, Whale, 15, .-/;/(/. 267), and lagumearh 
{Gu. 1306). 

158-9 See note to Rid. 80 3-5, where this motive is treated. In MS. Harl. 603, 
f. 51 r., a maid fills a drinking-horn from a pitcher. 

15 10 Dietrich says (XI, 464) of this line: ' Dunkel ist v. 10 ein gebrauch 
wonach es bordiim behlyhed ist ; ich betrachte dies als denom. part, von /il?o& = 
/ileowoS' (schutz); von bretern beschiitzt konnte das horn auf dem gibel heissen 
\_Rid, 88 24], wenn hcafodleas los vom haupte sein kann ; moglich aber dass dies 
gestumpft bedeutet und dann an ein mit holz eingefasstes hornernes gerath zu 
denken ist, vielJeicht an hornerne figuren des bret- oder schachspiels, go»ien on 
borde, c. E.x. 345,6.' Thorpe, dnl. Ex., p. 527, defines belilyl>ed as 'deprived of 
comrades' {ge/ili-Jian). Grein, .S/r. I, 87, associates be/ilyj>ed {be/ilP&ed?) with 
/ile&a, 'prccdator' (Cot. 170), and translates ' spoliare,' ' privare.' In Diclit. he 
renders 'des Kortenschmuckes beraubt.' Brooke translates (p. 127) 'bereft of 
covers,' and thus comments: ^ Bordinn I do not take to be "on the tables," but 
bordum be/ilv&ed, robbed of my covers, of the round tops like shields which shut 
down on the drinking horn, and were, because they were adorned with jewels and 
gold figures, wrenched away by the plunderers.' B.-T. s.v. renders 'deprived'; 
and so also Sweet ; Brougham (Cook and Tinker, Select Translations, p. 72) 'soli- 
tary upon the board.' There seems to be no doubt that [«?«] bordum . . . behlyhed 
licgan is an exact antithesis of Jiongige hyrstitm frirtwed . . . on ■icdge (15 11-12). 
' Sometimes ' says the Horn, ' I shall lie stripped on the tables ; sometimes I hang 



NOTES lOI 

adorned with ornaments on the wall.' Our riddle is full of such contrasts (11. 5-7 ; 
i(y-u)). For fii'n/, 'table,' see 88 23, 24. 

15 II liyrstiiiu fra'tAved. Cf. 54 7-8, wounum hyrstum | foran gefra;twed; 3220, 
fra'twed hyrstum. See also 15 2-3, 7. 

15 12 wlitig on Avage. Cf. Beo-a. 1662, on wage wlitig; Aju/. 732, wlitig of 
wage. Sarrazin says {Beoioulf-Siiidien, p. 119): ' In dem Ratsel ist der Ausdruck 
sehr passend auf ein gold- und silbergeschmiicktes Trinkhorn angewendet.' The 
Beo'i'. passage is discussed by Wiilker i^Aiiglia X I, 537) and Kail (XII, 38). — paT 
Averas drini-aO". Cf. 21 12, 56 i, 57 n, 64 3, 68 17. 

15 '3'^ ft'rdsceorp. '■ Scorp bezieht sich allgemein mehr auf die Kleidung: 
hilde-sceorp {Beoio. 2156); wSron hie on gescirplan scipferendum eorlas onlice 
(Am/. 250); daher gescyrpaii — "%'estire," "omare" {Met. 152); dann aber auch 
allgemein fiir "Ausriistung," "Schmuck," z.B.fyrd-sceorp (/>'/(/. 15 13); heoru-sceorp 
(I far. 73), [6'//. Ex. 127, sigesceorp] ; sceorp to friSscipe (vSchmid, Gesetze, Anhang 
III, i); fugla cynn fiSerum gescyrped {Ps. 14S 10)' (Lehmann, Germauia XXXI, 
494-495). Fyrdsceorp is rendered by Grein, Spr. I, 362, 'ornatus bellicus.' Brooke 
(p. 127) translates 'a fair thing on wayfaring'; and adds in a note 'Literally, "a 
fair w"ar-ornament." I have translated it as above, because I want to give, in this 
place, the force of " fyrd," which is the militia; and here, I think, the levy en 
masse of the population for a war expedition — the horn is part of the war- 
material, part of the ornamented things used in the Fyrd.' Cf. Bemo. 1424, horn 
stundum song fuslTc fyrdleo'5 ; Epistola Alcxaudri, 252, f)a het ic blawan mine 
byman ond Sa fyrd faran ; Kid. 80 2, fyrdrinces gefara. 

15 17-1C) In the La'ii's the horn is the greatest enemy of the thief. See Laws of 
IVilitred §28 (Schmid, p. 18): ' Gif feorran cumen man oiScSe fremde buton wege 
gange and he I'onne nawj>er ne hryme, ne he horn ne blavve, for heof he biiS to pro- 
fianne o■(S^"e to sleanne oSSe to alysenne.' Our riddler has in mind the hrearn or 
'hue-and-cry.' Penalties are pronounced against any one 'gif hwa hream gehyre 
andhine forsitte,' etc. (Canute, II, 29, § i, Schmid, p. 286). Cf. Canute, 1,26, Schmid, 
p. 268, 'wac bi'5 se hyrde funde to heorde, )>e nele ^a heorde . . . mid hreame 
bewerian . . . gyf I'aer hv/yXc />eodscea&a scea&iait onginne'5' [15 ig'^, feondsceaJ>an]. 
The Anglo-Saxon laws for the recovery of stolen property [15 18] are discussed 
by Schmid, p. 636, s. v. ' Nachsuchung nach gestohlenem Gut.' One recalls the 
hue-and-cry after the fox in the A'oii/ie Preestes Tale, B. 4588-4589 : 

Of bras they broghten hemes and of box, 

Of horn, of boon, in which they blewe and powped. 



RIDDLK K; 

Dietrich's answer, B7-oc 'Badger' (XI, 465), was accepted by Prehn, Brooke 
{P:. E. IJt.,^. 142), McLean {O. E. Reader, p.xxx), Cosijn {PBB. XXIII, 128), and 
queried by Trautmann. Walz, Ilai-vard Studies V, 261, objects that the badger 
has not a white throat, nor is he swift-footed ; and suggests Igil, ' Porcupine ' (cf. 
1. 3, beadmuiepe/i ; 1. 28, /lildepT/iirn). But the habits of the creature of the riddle 
are totally unlike those of the porcupine or hedgehog, and veiy like those of 



I02 RIDDLES OF THK EXETER BOOK 

tlie badger, as a comparison of the text with Hell's account of the animal [iiifrii) 
shows. A hedgeiiog does not work a way with his feet through a steep hill (16 iS f.), 
nor does he reach through the roof of the hill (1627). AVr/. 16 has nothing in 
common with the spirited ' Kelduswin ' (Hedgehog) riddle of hU)izkar Gatur, 
No. 6S0, and is not in the least indebted, as I'rehn, p. 178, would have us think, 
to Symphosius 21, Talpa \ nor save in the darts (28 a) to Sym. 29, Jii-uiiis: 
' Incolumi dorso telis confixus acutis.' Holthausen points out {Eii<^l. Stud. 
XXXVII, 206-207) certain parallels between Kid. 16 and a Hedgehog {^De IJys- 
tricc) poem of Claudius Claudianus {Cnriiiiiia, Leipzig, 1879, 11, i^^f); but 
these {infra) do not seem to me sufficient to sustain Walz's solution. 

In the Glosses, broc is usually rendered by ' taxus vel meles ' (see WW. 119, 2, 
320, 10; cf. Jordan, Die trltenglisc/ieit Sdiigetieritainen, p. 43); and the treatise 
' Medicina de Quadrupedis ' (Lc/id. I, 326, 11) thus describes it: '.Sum fy|>erfete 
nyten is l'a;t we nemnaS taxonem )>a;t ys broc on englisc' Alexander Neckam, 
De A'atiiris Rcntm, cxxvii (Rolls Series, 1863, p. 207), thus describes the badger's 
building and his departure from his home on account of the enmity of the fox: 
'Taxi mansiones subterraneas sibi parant labore multo. Unum enim sibi eligunt 
taxum terrae pedibus ipsorum effossae vectorem et oneri tali ex longa consue- 
tudine idoneum. Supinatur quidem, et cruribus extensis et erectis, super ventrem 
ipsius terra effossa accumulatur. Oneratus satis per pedes ab aliis exportatur, 
tociensque labor assumptus iteratur usque dum capacitas domus habitatoribus 
siiis sutliciat. Latitans interim in insidiis animal dolosum, vulpem loquor, sustinet 
uscjue dum mansio subterranea parata sit, tt tempus absentiae taxorum sibi 
reputans idoneum, signum turpe indilium hosi)ituni novoruni ibidem relintiuit. 
Revertentes melotae, lares proprios indignantur iiihabitare et alias sibi constru- 
entes aedes, foedatam doniun; foedo hospiii seil praedoni relinquunt.' Bell, 
British Quadrupeds, 1S74, j^p. i5Sf., thus describes the Badger or Brock {Me/es 
Taxus) : 

' Its favorite haunts are obscure and gloomy; it retires to the deepest recesses 
of the woods or to thick coppices covering the sides of hills [16 iS, 21, 27], and 
there with its long and powerful claws digs for itself a deep and well-formed 
domicile consisting of more than one apartment [cf. 16 17-18] . . . The badger 
is endowed with astonishing strength of jaws. ... It also possesses great gen- 
eral muscular j)ower; and these means of inflicting injury with the defensive 
coat of mail . . . render him a formidable enemy to attack or cope with. . . . The 
burrow is usually a round horizontal hole or tunnel, the end of which is turned 
upwards abruptly for about a foot, and the vertical part of the hole leads into 
a rounded excavation of just sufficient size for the animal to lie coiled up in' 

[l6 7f.]-_ 

' The intricate passages and crevices in quarries, while they furnish to this 
animal a commodious retreat, afford also an efficient means of defense against 
the entrance of dogs, which in their attempt to dislodge the badger often get 
fixed between the stones and perish' [16 8-1 1, 24 f.]. 

Bell thus pictures the animal (p. 166): ' Feet very hairy, particularly the hinder 
ones with five toes on each armed with strong curved fossorial claws [16 17]. Hair 
of body long, loose, and of three colors, — white, black, and reddish, the union 



NOTES 



103 



of wliich i)roduces a rich gray. Head while excepting a l)and of Ijlack commenc- 
ing between nose and eye, and extending baci<wards. . . . Lower jaw, throat, 
breast, and belly, the interior of all the legs and the feet, black; the back, shoul- 
ders, and rump, reddish gray; the sides and tail, light gray.' 'l"he Anglo-Saxon 
animal is white and reddish gray [16 1-2]. 

Brooke says {K. E. Lit., p. 142) : ' Once more, on this beast life in the literature 
of the woods, we are placed on the edges of the hills where the badger has his 
hole, and Cynewulf throws himself as fully into the life and passions of the animal 
for his home and children as he does into the eagerness of the hunter. ... It is 
in these short poems — in this sympathetic treatment of the beasts of the wood, 
as afterwards of the birds; in this transference to them of human passions and 
of the interest awakened by their suffering and pleasure — that the English poetry 
of animals begins.' 

llerzfeld, pp. 10-12, and McLean, p. xxxi, note that in this riddle we have a re- 
markable number of hapax lej^omena, in this case compounds not found elsewhere: 
10, (;eogu&cndsl; \2,,forhtmdd \ \i, fe&einintd\ 2T,,'iijiclhic'el/^ \ 2J,, jii&sceajja \ 26, 
gegiif>ie& \ 29, Id&gewitina. And yet the word-use has much in common with the 
vocabulary of Rid. 17, 18. 

163 beadoAvaJpoii. Cf. 18 s, beadowsepnum; 16 2.s, hiklepilum; 18 6, hyldepylas; 
16 5, 18 s, ordum. 

163-4 Ilolthausen, who reads /li'r sivylce sui\_i}i'\c, compares Claudian, De 
Ilystrice, 5 f . : 

Os longius illi 
Assimulat porcum. Mentitae coriuia saetae 

Siimnia fronte rigent 

I'arva sub hirsuto catuli vestigia dorso. 

This, it is true, accords remarkably with Holthausen's reading of the text, but as 
that involves the change of the MS. swe to sw\Jii\e, and the omission of Iilijia&, we 
are justified in rejecting it. I accept the reading of Zupitza and McLean, because 
that alone meets the demands of the meter without change or elimination ; be- 
cause swe is supported by the only possible substitute in 10 6 for MS. snearlice, 
sue drlice, and by Leid. Ii, S2ice\ and because, as McLean points out, such com- 
parisons as this to a sow are very rare in Old English poetry. Translate ' Hairs 
stand on my back just as (stoi/ce szae) on my cheeks : two ears tower over my eyes.' 
The sow of the editors thus goes out of the story. 

166" in grene graes. Barnouw, p. 219, remarks the absence of the emphatic 
article in this place in a riddle which on other grounds he has classed as very old, 
and contrasts 36 1, si' 'a'icta woiii^. 

166'' Cf. 16 II, him bi)' deaS witod (Jansen, p. 95, notes the epiphora and the 
resulting strophic effect); 21 24, me biS for'S witod; 85 7, me biS deaS witod. 

168 ■\v;iplgrim- Aviga. Cf. \% ic}'', gccst; \& 11^, uurllnvelpes; 1624'^, iii&sceajxi ; 
16 29'^, Id&ge'u'iiiiuivi. Dietrich says (XI, 465): ' Sein feind der ihn kriechend 
aufspiirt, und mit dem er vor der andern rcihre seines bans die kampfbegegnung 
mit scharfer kriegswaffe, seinem gebiss, aufnimmt, ist der fuchs, oder auch der 
dachshund.' — ■\vic biige. Cf. 82, )'a wic buge ; Gii. 274, j'C )>a wic buga'S. 



I04 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

i6 II him. Cosijn, PBB. XXIII, 12S-129, refers Jiim io geogu&cuosle, — 'sonst 
ware die flucht des dachses ganz unmotiviert : erst spater fuhlt er sich sicher.' So 
Grain, Dicht., and Brooke, p. 142, 'death is doomed to them.' 

16 13'' fleame nergan. So Gen. 2000. Note the rime in this line. 

1615^ Grein, Dicht., translates 'ihn tragt die Brust heran,' and explains, Spr. 
I, 141, 'er kriecht auf dem Bauche.' 

16 19*' feorh genergan. For many examples of the phrasey>(v// [ge)nergan, see 
Spr. I, 296. 

16 21 on degolne \veg. Cf. Earle, Charters, 239, 18, on broccholes weg. — ]7yrel. 
As Madert shows, p. 36, t>yrel is found in the Riddles with long and short y. It is 
short here and in 72 8, l>tirh J>yrel he^^rle, and 81 n, \o>i\ kvrehvombne \ while it is 
obviously long in 45 2,/oraii is J^yrel, and 91 5, /lindait hyrel. See Sievers, PBB. X, 
487, 6'r.3, § 218, I. 

1622 SAvffise ond gesibbe. Cf. 27 21-22, freonda | swiesra ond gesibbra; Gen. 
161 2, freondum swaesum ond gesibbum. 

i6 24f. Holthausen compares Claudian, iSf.: 

Crebris propugnat jactibus ultro 
Et longe sua membra tegit tortumque per auras 
Evolat e.xcusso nativum missile tergo, 
Interdum fugiens Parthorum more sequentem 

Vulnerat, etc. 

The likeness is not convincing. I believe, with Dietrich and Brooke, that the darts 
of war are the badger's teeth. 

1624 nearvve stige. Cf. Bemv, 1410, stige nearwe. 

16 25 tostele]?. Only here and 17 5. 

16 28 ]7urh best hriilo. Cf. Gen. 1396, hSste hrlnan. 



RIDDLE 17 

Dietrich's answer to this riddle (XI, 452), 'Anchor,' is unquestionably correct. 
Its source is found in Symphosius 61, ' Ancora.' 

Mucro mihi geminus ferro conjungitur unco [17 8, steort]. 
Cum vento luctor, cum gurgite pugno profundo [17 1-2]. 
.Scrutor aquas medias, ipsas quoque mordeo terras [172-3]. 

All these motives are expanded in tlie Anglo-Saxon, but, as Dietrich well says, 

' der gegenstand des rathsels ist nicht mehr sache, er ist ein kampfer und sieger 

wider die elemente, seine feinde, er ist rein ein held geworden.' Heusler, Zs. d. 

V. f. Vk. XI, 127, compares with the English riddle the spirited Gata 6 of Her- 

varar Saga : 

Hverr er sja hinn mikli, 

er morgu ra>;Sr, 
ok horfir til heljar hdlfr ? 

Oldum hann bergr, 
en vi^ iorJS sakask, 
ef hann hefir ser vehraustan vin. 



NOTES 105 

The riddle of Symphosius is found in popular form in the mediaeval German 
version of the A])ollonius story (Schroter, pp. Ixxv, 66 f.) ; and suggested to Scaliger 
the theme of his fine Latin riddle (Reusner I, 175): 

Magna, bidens, apridens, denies fero parva quaternos ; 

Ingens pro digitis annulus in capita est. 
Quum teneo dominam, nihiloininus ilia movetur, 

Et quum non teneo, magna avis atra volat. 

17 1-4 Sievers (/'/?/>. XII, 457) regards these lines as interesting examples of 
the ' schwellvers.' 

172 saecce. Thorpe, Grein (.S/r. II, 394) and Bosworth-Toller regard this as 
ist sg. pres. ind. of sceccait, 'to contend'; Grein {Dicht.) and Brooke {E. E. Lit., 
p. 17S) doubtfully as 'See-ried' or 'sea-tangle.' Either is a hapax. It is merely 
the Northern form of ist sg. pres. ind. of sacan (cf. Mark xiv, 31, ivtsace; Lind., 
onsicccd), which is here retained for the sake of the meter. Conversely, see to sace 
for to scrcce, 21 6. 

17 3 yjjum peaht. So 11 4. 

17 5 tosieletf. Compare 16 25'', tosielch- Is it not more than probable that our 
riddle intended a word-play, as scelan is frequently employed for the making fast 
of a ship {^Ckr. 863, Beo'w. 226, EL 228).'' Compare Merbach, Das Meer hi der 
Dichtung der Aiigelsachsen, p. 36. 

17 8 steort. Weinhold {Altnordisches Leben, 1856, p. 13) remarks : ' Als Anker 
benutzte man, wie die Deutschen in altester Zeit, Senksteine die von einem 
Tau umschlungen, das in eingeschnitne Rinnen festgriff, auf den Grund gelassen 
wurden. . . . Erst spater verdrangte im alten Scandinavien der metallene Haken 
(Kraki) den Stein.' Steort corresponds to the miicro of Symphosius. 

17 lo-^ faeste gehabban. To the use of the anchor there are many references 

in the poetry : Beow. 302-303, scip on ancre faest ; Beo'M. 191 9, scip oncerbendum 

faest ; El. 252, aid yShofu oncrum fzeste ; C/ir. 863, ealde ySmearas ancrum faeste; 

Whale, 13-14: 

ond l^onne gehydaS heahstefn scipu 

to |iam unlonde oncyrrapum. 

Ancor-man is the gloss to ancorariits or pror eta ( yElfric, Gloss. 83, WW. 166, 7). 
It is this seaman whom Aldhelm describes in the De Latidihiis Virgiiiitatis, § 2, 
Giles, pp. 2-3 : '[Navis] instanter hortante proreta et crepante naucleri portisculo 
spumosis algosisque remorum tractibus trudit.' Several references to the drop- 
ping of anchors are found in the Ejicomiiim Emmae, Pertz, 1865, p. 8 {Scriptores 
Kerum Germanicartini III). 



RIDDLE 18 

Dietrich (XI, 465) suggests ' Ballista,' but later (XII, 237) adopts Professor 
Lange's solution, 'Burg,' which Prehn supports (pp. 270-271). As I have shown 
(M. L.N. XXI, 100), this riddle is certainly a companion-piece to Rid. 24, ' Bow,' 
and forms with it one of the many pairs in our collection. Both objects swallow 
and spit out terror and poison (18 7-9, 4; 24 8-.;); from the belly of each fly deadly 



I06 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

darts (i8 6, 24 12); each is servant of a master (18 5, 240). Indeed, a half -line of one 
poem (18 6'^) appears practically unchanged in the other (24 12''). I find this com- 
panion weapon to the ' Bow' in Dietrich's first scrtution Ballisia, which, as I have 
pointed out (J/. Z. .\'. XVIII, 104), is elsewhere in riddle-poetry associated with 
Arcits. The latter says of its fellow-warrior (Scaliger's enigma, Reusner I, 172): 

Altera mi similis cognataqiie litera niajus 
Edit opus sapiens, tectus utraque cave. 

This answer caps our query at every point. Isidore tells us of the Ballista in his 
Origines -xy'm, 10: 'Torquetur enim verbere nervorum et magna vi jacit aut hastas 
aut saxa.' From the many Roman references in Marquardt und Mommsen's Iland- 
biich der Roniischen Alterthiimer, 18S4, V, 522-524, and from many medieval ex- 
amples in Du Gauge's Glossarium, s. v., one gathers that not only darts and rocks, 
but beams and bolts of every sort were cast from the huge engine. So our riddler's 
chief motives, the varied contents of the creature's belly (18 J°-z, 7-10) and the 
casting forth thence of 'spear-terror ' (18 4^, 6), are well sustained. Illustrations 
and descriptions of the Ballista in Baumeister, Denkmdler, s. v., in Yule's Marco 
Polo II, 122, in Marquardt, and in Schultz, Das Iiofische Lebeft 11,327, support the 
mention in Rid. 18 of the subject's 'mouth' and 'belly'; and the cords with which 
it was wound (' Ballista funibus nervinis tenditur ') may perhaps be ' the inclos- 
ing wires ' of line 2 a. Lines 3 a, drylitgestreoiia^ and 10, ivombliord wlitig wlonaim 
deore, seem to me to express admirably that joyous pride of the Anglo-Saxons in 
their war-weapons of which our riddles are so full ; and the last line is of charac- 
teristic grimness when applied to an engine of destruction. 

Above Rid. 18 in the MS. are two runes, B with the L above it. If B refers to 
Ballista, may not L represent its Anglo-Saxon equivalent (sta'f-)li^re {Spr. II, 
183)? As Miss Keller's references show {.4iiglo-SaxoH JVeapoji jYanies, p. 119), 
funda is glossed by lij>{e)re and fmidibiilum or ballista by stH-fli/>{e)re in the 
Glosses (WW. passim ; Bede, Eccl. Hist. IV, 13, 304 25). Miss Keller infers (p. 65) 
that huge hurling-machines were unknown, on the negative evidence of a passage 
in the translation of Orosius {infra), but shows that the sling or staff-sling (pp. 
62-63) '^^'^^ i"^ common use among the older English. 

Heyne, Die Halle Heorot, p. 19, doubts the existence of great hurling-machines 
in Anglo-Saxon times: ' Fiir Schleudermaschinen nach Art der rrimischen Cata- 
pulten und Balisten kommen auch einheimische Namen vor (bolt, "catapulta"; 
steam, "balista"; " balista," gelocen boee); aber zweifelhaft kcinnte ihre allge- 
meinere Verbreitung nach den Worten sein, mit denen Konig /Elfred, der Ueber- 
setzer des Orosius, der Balisten gedenkt und die ganz den Eindruck machen als 
ob er etwas Fremdes schildere ["palistar" for " balista," Orosius iv, 6, p. 399], 
ha het he mid )'am palistar mid ham hy weallas brScon.' But both the catapulta 
and ballista are repeatedly mentioned in Abbon's account of the siege of Paris 
by the Danes, whose methods of warfare in 885 could not have been more ad- 
vanced than those of the English (see Abbon, £>e Bellis Parisiacae Urbis, lib. i, 
205 f., Pertz, Scriptores Reriini Germanicartan I, pp. 13 f.). In the Saga of 
Sigurd, chap. 11 (Laing IV, 127), a ballista is used in battle; but this is as late 
as mo A. D. 



NOTES 107 

In Trautmann's solution 'Oven' {Anglia, Bb. V, 48; BB. XIX, 180 f.) he is 
led into fourfold error (J/. Z.iV. XXI, 10 1). He ignores entirely the riddle's rela- 
tion to its mate, Rid. 24, since this association in war cries out against his answer. 
He changes the text to fit his meaning (see i b, 1 1 a). He hunts words and phrases 
beyond all bounds of riddle fantasy (4 a, 8-9 a). And, finally, he seeks unsuccess- 
fully to establish certain likenesses to Rid. 50, which he asserts without proof to 
be 'Oven.' Ilolthausen follows Trautmann {Ajiglia, Bb. IX, 357), and affirms with- 
out a vestige of proof : ' Die B-rune am rande natiirlich bedeutet b<Tc-erii oder 
-liiis.' Trautmann believes that the presence of the runes B and L shows that the 
scribe was hovering between two solutions. 

18 i'' minre heorde. For this MS. reading, which Grain, Diclit., renders 
'meiner heerde,' Trautmann proposes mtnra heorde, and translates 'ein hiiter 
der meinen,' merely because the transmitted phrase does not accord with his 
interpretation. As a genitive dependent upon micndbora, it is perfectly intelli- 
gible ; and no change seems necessary. Ileord in the sense of grex or familia 
is very common {Spr. II, 6S). 

18 2-'' eodor ■\viruin. This reading of Thorpe and Trautmann seems preferable 
to Gn., \V. eodorunriim, which is found nowhere else. Perhaps Trautmann is right 
when he suggests, ' Das wort eodor gebraucht der dichter listig in zweifachem 
sinne: in dem von w?/«a'(5^rrt', 'schutzherr' {eodor Scyldiiigd) und in seiner eigen- 
lichen bedeutung 'einschliessender raum.' Such word-plays appear in the Riddles 
(32 14, on 7C'oiige\ 38 7, bl^d; 73 22, on lurfte; 93 22, blace). Old Norse poetry abounds 
in such double meanings (see Skdldskaparvidl, § 74, Snorra Edda I, 544). 
186 Cf. Sal. 25-28: 

worpa'5 hine deofol 

on domdaege draca egesllce 

bisniorlTce of blacere li'Sran 

irenum aphim. 

In Ilpt. Gl. 425, 13, the phalarica is a burning arrow shot from an engine, and 
stdnas (446, 29) are included among the weapons of war. 

18 8-9* ' The brown war-weapons, bitter points, dire poison-spears' are regarded 
by Trautmann as the fuel, 'the logs and coals thrown into an oven.' Dietrich 
comes nearer the truth with the suggestion that the poet is thinking of ' die 
gesammte waffenfahige mannschaft des burgbezirkes ' or perhaps of the darts 
cast into the city by the enemy. I believe that the riddler has in mind the 
missiles of every sort thrown from the ballista. 

189 attorspcruin. For a discussion of poisoned weapons see note to 24 g. 

18 10'' Avloncuni deore. In Run. 81, eldittn dyre refers to the use of the Ash 
as a weapon. 

18 If'' Trautmann condemns men gem 11 nan because it has only 'drei takte,' 
and because it does not suit his solution. So he changes this to the unlikely 
geu<ilnia&, to resemble 50 7''. Later he argues fallaciously for his answer from 
this made-to-order resemblance. Cosijn {PBB. XXIII, 129) has suggested [^o/f] or 
[/>(<•/] ; but Herzfeld, p. 49, has pointed out the occurrence of the type _L X | v5 X 
in the first half -line in the Riddle.'! (47 6, ("v/w ond nefa ; 93 10, strotig on sttepe ; etc.). 
Cf. also Sievers, PBB. X, 454, and see Introduction. 



I08 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

RIDDLE 1!) 

Dietrich's solution ' Schlauch ' (XI, 465), to which reference has been made, 
Rid. 135-6, is accepted by Prehn (p. 271), who fails, however, to establish any 
resemblance between this riddle and Aldhelm, i, 13; vi, 8. The traits of the un- 
known subject — a silent mouth and a wide belly — and its place in a ship with 
others of its kind certainly do not limit us to a ' Leather Bottle'; and Trautmann 
is right in ([uerying the answer. 

ig 1 ' For discussion of opening formulas, see Introduction. 

RIDDLE 20 

As I have pointed out {M.L.N. XVIII, 105), Kid. 20 and 65 seem to be little 
more than fragments of the world-riddle, ' A man upon horseback with a hawk 
on his fist,' which I have traced throughout its history in my note to Holme Kid. 
No. 28. In the pointless Anglo-Sa.\on logogriphs, the subject is merely stated. 
Three of the words in the present riddle are easily discoverable by an inversion 
of the runes [//ors, Man, IIa{o)/oc)\ but one of the runic groups has caused much 
difhculty to scholars [iit/ra). 

20 I Hicketier (.-/;/(,'■//(/ X, 593) would read .wi/iod before and not after ic seah 
((In.), 'because Rid. 19 is mutilated at the close and this lacuna is here continued.' 
Rut there are two objections to this reading: Kid. 19 closes with the usual sign ; 
and somod ic seah is a faulty verse. 

20 2 Notice that the masculine adjectives liygeu'lonciie, h?afodbeorhtiu\ (juaJify 
the neuter ITors. Jl?afodbeorkt>ie doubtless bears the same idea as Bemo. 1036, 
mearas fStedhleore. 

20 3 Cf. 75, Ic swiftne geseah on swa|>e frran | DNUH. 

20 4 liiUleJ^ryJjc. The word occurs only here, but compare 65 4, I'lyl'a diel, 
t>E(gn). 

20 5-6 MS. rdd I kOy^"^ . These words have received much tinkering from 
scholars. The reading of Thorpe, Ettmiiller, and Dietrich, rddMQy^'^ — rdd- 
wegn (7curi,'>/), has two strong grounds of favor, — that it necessitates no very vio- 
lent change of text (the confusion of runes A and N being a natural error), and 
that the word thus derived occurs elsewhere (Orosius, vi, 30, .Sweet, 280, 13). But 
it is also open to two strong ol)jections — that it is unfitted to the context (a 
'chariot' is not borne on the back of a horse) and that it has nothing in common 
with the problem's counterpart {Kid. 65) or with the treatment of the theme in 
riddle-history, (irein's reading, ?-<id(= R)AGEW = ^^--^r [7vdd R]EW involves too 
great forcing of the text to deserve serious consideration ; while the suggestions 
of Hicketier {.4iii;lia X, 593), nuid WOE[> (corrupted to NGEf), by the associa- 
tion of /rtw and /<i,'-;/, and then to MS. kGiE^N), and Trautmann, ^'•Jr WOEf), 
are open to the same objection — J>e(nv is an abortive product, and moreover is 
not fitted to the context, for it is well known that horses were used in Anglo- 
Sa.xon times only for the chariots of the rich or as steeds of the upper classes 
(cf. 23 2, 65 2) and that no /(Wt- was ever mounted. Hicketier proposes also 
n.ri^/edne rii[n']d \ but his protests against mrglediie gdr, 'the nailed spear,' are 



NOTES 



109 



based upon ignorance, for we meet the expression in the Ileliand, 5704, tieffilii sper 
(see Chaucer, Knightcs Talc, A. 2503, ' nailinge the speres'). In the Anglo-Saxon 
illuminated manuscripts (see Wright, Domestic Manners, p. 74) the rider almost 
always carries a spear. ' It is noted of Cuthbert in Bede's life of that saint that 
one day when he came to Mailros (Melrose) and would enter the church to pray, 
having leaped from his horse, he gave the steed and his traveling spear into the 
care of a servant.' Cosijn {PBB. XXIII, 129) would read rdd{K)kQ,, \N {lVyn?i), 
E{E/i). Thus are evolved not only the desired .^ar (by inversion), but wynn-ek, 
'joyous horse,' a creature which finds some excuse for being in Runic Poem 55 : 

Eh by5 for eorlum a;l)elinga wyn, 

hors hofum wlanc, SSr him haelej) ymb 

welege on wicgum wrixlah sprsce, 

and \A\> unstyllum aifre frofur. 

Holthausen (i93. IX,357) follows on the same track, but suggests for WE it'vnn^ 
= Wynne [see Punic Poem 22, -cvytt)ie'\. Cosijn's reading fits the context, and is 
supported not only by the Runic passage cited but by such compounds as 
■wyn-bcam, 7iyn-/>urg, luyn-candel, 7ayn-miEg, etc. {Spr. II, 758-759). Moreover, in 
the Riddles, runes make a threefold appearance: through their names (438-11, 
A'yd, yEsc, Acas, IPrgelas), as letters (so 20, 65, and 75), and finally as symbols 
of things (gi 7, mod-V^ — viodwyn ; heading of Rid. 7, S = sigel; etc.). But despite 
these positive arguments, which Cosijn does not present, his reading strains cre- 
dulity in many ways : it is highly improbable that in a single group of five runes 
three different functions of them should be found ; it is equally unlikely that such 
a group would present not one thought as elsewhere, but two such totally different 
ideas as 'spear' and 'joyous horse'; it is still more unreasonable to assume that 
such a departure in thought could occur within one half-line, 20 &=>; and, finally, it is 
quite unnatural to suppose that the riddler would abandon his method of inver- 
sion (see Rid. 75) that he has employed consistently in the three other groups of 
this runic problem (another method is pursued with like persistence in 65). 

Trautmann's view {Anglia, Bfi.Y, 48) that 205'' r^f^/ represents an original _^(fr, 
is founded upon his fatally simple method of substituting any desired word for 
that in the text. Likewise in his reading of the runes [su/ra) the MS. is honored 
only in the breach. 

Now let us solve this problem according to the rules of the game. The con- 
ditions imposed upon us are two: (i) the runic letters must be read backward as 
elsewhere in the riddle ; (2) thus combined, they must form but one word. And 
here are our letters: rdd{— R)AGEW. Inverted, they read -vegar, — no impos- 
sible form, since 'wlgdr and Tivj,'-//;- appear instead of wig-gdr, 'lance,' in WW. 143, 
12-13 : ^-ziiigdr, lancea; 7vegures gC7C'ri&, amentum.' It is needless to point out that 
this furnishes the very meaning demanded both by the context and by our riddle's 
counterpart, Ri</. 65 6. It satisfies all the conditions. Our form, 7i>egdr, ■which may 
be explained either by phonetic change, as in the Vocahtilaries, or by a confusion 
of runes, is one of the appositives of /tildej>>yt,e (20 4)- The passage may be thus 
rendered: 'He (the horse) had on his back strength in war (or "war-troop"), a 
man and a nailed war-spear. ' 



no RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

20 7-S Hehn {^Kp. 11. I/t., 1902, pp. 36S-374) discusses the Falkeiijagd or chas- 
ing of other birds by the kite, hawk, and falcon. ' Hawking is not a Teutonic in- 
vention, but was learnt by the Germans from the Celts, and at no very distant 
period either. [On the other hand, Jacob Grimm has devoted a whole chapter of 
his History of the German Language to hawking, setting forth the ruling passion 
for this kind of chase in passages from the poets and other authors of the Middle 
Ages, and placing the origin of the custom in the earliest prehistoric times of 
the German race.] Hunting as an art is a national trait of the Celts. ... It is 
another question whether the Celtic nations that surrounded the Germanic 
world on the south and west invented hawking or only developed the art, and, 
in the last case, whence they originally derived it.' Traces of its origin are noted 
by Hehn not only in Thrace, but on the very borderland of India. ' During the 
Middle Ages hawking flourished all over feudal Europe [see also Schultz, Das 
hbfische Leben I, 36S], it spread from Germany and Byzantium to the East and 
nations of Asia, and was practiced by electors and emperors, emirs, sheiks, and 
shah, down to the nomads of the steppe and the Bedouins of the desert. Marco 
Polo found hawking the fashion in the capitals of Mongolian princes as far as 
China.' 

Whitman {Jonrnal 0/ Germanic Philology II, 170) identifies the wealhhafoc or 
foreign hawk (cf. WW. 132, 36; 259,8; 406, 20; 514, 12, etc.), with the peregrine 
falcon (see Swaen, Herrigs Archiv CXVIII, 3S8). 'Falconry was a sport very 
popular among our Anglo-Saxon forefathers. The exact date of the introduction 
of falconry into England is not known, but about the year 750 Winifred or Bon- 
iface, then Archbishop of Mons, sent /Ethelbald, King of Kent, a hawk and two 
falcons; and Hedibert, King of the Mercians, requested the same Winifred to 
send him two falcons, w^hich had been trained to kill cranes' (Warton, Hist. Eng. 
Poetry, 1840, II, 405). For the history of the sport of hawking among the Anglo- 
Saxons, see Sharon Turner, VII, chap, vii, and Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, 1903, 
pp. 22 f. 

Whitman, I.e., notes the discussion of hawking in /Elfric's Colloquy (WW. 95, 
12 f.) and compares Crcrft. 81, Fates, 86, sum sceal wildne fugol wloncne atemian | 
heafoc on honda, etc. ; Maid. 7. See also Rid. 25 3, 65 3, 5. 

Sievers' discussion of the runes HA(0)FOC (Anglia XIII, 7) has been con- 
sidered in the Introduction. 



RIDDLE 21 

Dietrich's answer, 'Sword' (XI, 465), which is accepted by Brooke (p. 122), 
and rejected by Trautmann, who suggests {Anglia, Bb. V, 49) ' Hawk,' is un- 
doubtedly correct, being confirmed by every motive of the problem, — the adorn- 
ments of the warrior, his dependence upon his lord, his grim work of death, his 
lack of an avenger, his celibacy, his hatefulness to women. Prehn, as usual, has 
not succeeded in proving (pp. 184 f.) the indebtedness of the Anglo-Saxon to the 
Latin riddles of like subject (Aldhelm iv, 10; Tatwine 30; Eusebius 36). The 
chief motive of Aldhelm, and the entire theme of Tatwine, who follows him, — 



NOTES III 

the relation of -the sword to its house, — is not found at all in the English prob- 
lem where the sheath is a corslet (21 3); while the bloody labors of the weapon in 
the hand of the fighter are the inevitable outcome of the subject, and are handled 
by Aldhelm and Eusebius in a manner very different from that of our riddler. 
There is hardly even coincidence of fancy between Eusebius 363 — 'sed haec 
ago non nisi cum me quinque (i.e. digiti) coercent' — and Kid. 21 13, healdeS mec 
on heal'ore, etc. This riddle has much in common with other enigmas of the 
Anglo-Saxon collection. 

' The sword was the special weapon of all the nobler sort. It was also the 
noblest of all the pieces of armor, and it was fame for a smith to have forged 
one that would last, because of its fine temper, from generation to generation. . . . 
Cynewulf conceives it as itself a warrior, wrapped in its scabbard as in a coat of 
mail; going like a hero into the battle ; hewing a path for its lord into the ranks 
of the foe ; praised in the hall by kings for its great deeds ; and . . . mourning, 
when the battle is over, for its childless desolation, for the time when it v^-as inno- 
cent of wars, for the anger with which the women treat it as the slaughterer of 
men.' (Brooke, j?. ^. Z//., pp. 121-122.) 

21 i'' oil gc%vin sceapen. The same phrase, indeed almost the same line, is 
used of another weapon, the Bow, in 24 2. 

212 frean ininuin leof. So 80 2^^. Another weapon, the Ballista, tells us 
(18 s^'),/rea />i€t bihealde&. So both Sword and Bow are controlled by a vki/c/eitd 
(21 4, 246). — ftrgre gegyrAved. Cf. 29 i, fSgre gegierwed. 

21 3''' byrne is nun bleofag. The grave-finds (Wright, Celt, Roman and Saxon, 
1S75, P- 475) show that the sheath was generally of wood tipped with metal, some- 
times covered with or made entirely of leather. Miss Keller, Anglo-Saxon Weapon 
Xames, p. 46, notes that the chapes and lockets were sometimes gilded and even 
of gold. 'Occasionally the sheaths were adorned with a winding or snake pattern 
so characteristic of the period ; and one bronze chape inlaid with figures of ani- 
mals in gilt has been discovered' {Arc/iaeologia XXXVIII, 84; Horae Ferales, 
1863, pi. xxvi). For construction, cf. 16 i, /lals is niin Itwit. 

21 4 \v\t ymb ]7one wselgini. Cf. 21 32, tvirnm dol; 71 5, wire ge%veorJ>ad, — 
in both places of Sword. The I!ook (27 14) and the Horn (15 3) are adorned with 
' wires.* 

21 6 sylftini to sace. All editors read the MS. wrongly, sylfnm to rue. Grein's 
suggestion sige is accepted by Pirooke, who renders ' with himself to conquest.' 
Both the MS. and the B. M. transcript read plainly sylfuni id sace. Sace is a 
scribal variation for original sacce (see 429, 88 29), — the second foot of a simple 
A-type, _L X x _^ X . 

21 6-8 ic sine -wege . . . gold ofer geardas. So in the riddle's sequel, 71 6, 
se J>e gold 7uige& ; but in the later place the phrase is used not of the sword itself, 
but of him who suffers by its stroke (Rev. .xiii, 10). Cf. 92 4. gold on geardiim. 

21 7 hond-\voorc smi}>a. The same phrase is applied to the Sword, 6 8. 

21 8-10 Aldhelm (iv, 10 6-7) thus refers to the bloody deeds of the sword: 

Per me multoruni clauduntur liimina letho, 
Qui domini nudus nitor defendere vitam. 



112 KIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

And luisebius (36 1-3) says : • 

SuTiguinis hiiniani reus et ferns en ero vindex : 
Corpora nunc defendere, nunc cruciare vicissim 
Curo. 

The Sword speaks in 71 0, ic y)niii sciuil. 

218, 10 f. As Lehmann points out (' Ueber die Watt'en iin Ags. Beowulfliede,' 
Germania XXXI (18S6), 4S7 f.), the Bfoiviilf \-^ full of references to sword-hilts 
of costly metal set with precious stones {Becm'.GT^, 1024, 1615, 16SS, 1901, 2192, 
2700). Elsewhere in the Kidti/cs (56 u) the gold-hilted sword is mentioned (see 
also Gn. /-'.v. 126, Go/d gc'risf& on gtimaii sivcordc). In the Wills several costly 
swords with hilts of gold and silver appear as legacies. Miss Keller, Auglo-Saxon 
Weapon Aii/z/cs, p. 37, cites Thorpe's Diplomatariitni, 505, 28, where a testator 
mentions the sword ' J'a;t Eadmund king me selde on hundtwelftian mancusas 
goldes and feower pund silveres on Nan fetelse ' ; and 558, 10, where another 
leaves a sword 'mid Nam sylfrenan hylte ond None gyldenan fetels.' The grave- 
finds furnish similar evidence of the rich beauty of sword-hilts (Akerman, Pagan 
Saxondom, 1852, pi. xxiv ; Collectanea Antiqiia II, 164). But, as Miss Keller 
notes, the laws, wills, manuscript-illuminations, grave-finds, and even the passages 
in the poems, prove conclusively that the sword is the weapon only of warriors of 
wealth and rank (see Kemble, Horae FeraUs, 83, 84). Indeed, its possession con- 
fers distinction; cf. Schmid, Gesetze, Anhang VII, 2, § 10, 'And gif he begyta'5 
I'ict he ha^bbe byrne and helm and ofer-gyldene sweord, J>eah )>e he land na;bbe, 
he biN si^■cund.' For interesting accounts of the sword, see Hodgetts, Older Eng- 
land, pp. I f. ; Wright, Celt, Kotnan and Saxon, pp. 470 f.; Brooke, E. E. Lit., 
p. 121 ; Bosworth-Toller, pp. 949-950. 

21 ir>o Cf. Dream, 23, mid since gegynved ; 77, gyredon me golde and seolfre ; 
Kid. 27 13, gierede mec mid golde. 

21 10 siiioc Olid soollVo. So 68 iS, /)<///. 60. 

21 II no ^vyrlH''(V Avord lofos. This recalls the praise of Ilrunting {Beo7i>. 
1456 f.), which is e.xtolled at a feast like the sword of our riddle. So in regard 
to the sword given l)y Beowulf to the Dane who had guarded his ship, we are 
told of the recipient (Beoio. 1902): 

Ini't ho s\ (N^an w.ts 
on meodubence nia^nic I'V woor'Nra, 
yrfelafo. 

iiiiT'iio'iV for luonjjo. ("f. Wids. 35, mccnan fore mengo in meoduhealle. 

21 12 J'iT'r hy inoodii driiii-aiiV. Note 15 iz, 56 i, 57 12, 64 3, 68 7, and the riddles 
of drink (28, 29). 

2112-15 Lehmann (^Germania XXXI, 493) notes that in the Anglo-Saxon 
period sword, helmet, and byrnie were worn by the most illustrious warriors, 
even at a feast. On this account bloody strife often arose, if men excited by beer 
taunted each other. Cf. Fates, 48 f., 

Sumum nieces ecg on meodubence 
yrruni oalowosan ealdor oNjiringeX, 
were wiusaduni. 



NOTKS 113 

The early kings, td prevent this, made stringent laws against tlie drawing of 
weapons in the mead-hall; cf. Illothar and Eadric, § 13, Schmid, Gesetze, p. 14: 
' (lif man wxpn iibregde l-air majii drincen and I'S-r man nan yfel ne deK, scilling 
\k\\\ K' Ki't lift age and ryningo XII scill,' 

21 u lioaUlrfli inec on h«'aj>oro. Cf. 663, hafaiN mcc on lieadre. 

21 14 on gorfim sceafaii. Cf. Jil. 320, eodon on gurum. 

21 i5-i(> sco<l freciio. Cf. dm. 1597, frccne scodon. 

21 17 \va'piiuin iI^vyr}?<''^• ^>iir riddlcr is here thinking of the passage in 
Ps. clxiv, 10. The Anglo-Saxon poetic version (143 n) reads of l,d>ii d:ovi\i:;cdaii 
7vrd&dii sn't'ordi: 

21 17 f. Roeder {/Ju' Fantilie hci deii Aiii:;clsachscii, 1899, p. 81) considers the 
conception of the lot of the bachelor that we meet in these lines as 'eine derb 
sinnliche aber durchaus gesunde germanische Auffassung.' With the motive of 
lack of vengeance compare the inability of the stag-horn to wreak its wrongs upon 
its banesman (93 19-20). Notice the insistence upon blood-vengeance, lieow. 1339, 
1546, Maid. 257 f. 

21 23 ]?c me hrlngas geaf. Cf. Ih-o-w. 3035, )>e him hringas geaf. See the 
description of the sword, 71 H, Itriitfiuin };eliyrstcd. 

21 24'^ The idiom is found 16 6, u, 85 7. 

21 25 Kri]5(' fromnio. So And. 1354. 

21 28-2V n»c }»a's hyhtplegan . . . wyriiefli. (,'f. lUiin. 24-25, 

Myrce ne wyrndon 
heardes handplegan ha5lej>a nanuni. 

For a discussion of the construction, see Shipley, Geit/tiTe Case in Anglo- 
Saxon, p. 64. 

21 2()-3o met" ... on bciulc Icgde. Cf. 4 13-15. 

21 33 f. This is the only picture of the shrew or scold in Old luiglish poetry, 
although we are told, Gn. Ex. 65, widgongel wif word gespringe|>. Hut there is 
no dearth of ' women weeping for their warriors dead ' ; cf. Fates., 46. 



RIDDI.E 22 

This 'Plow' riddle — for Dietrich's answer (XI, 465-466) has been generally 
accepted — has no parallels among the Latin enigmas of its day; but an ana- 
logue from the pen of Scaliger (Keusner T, 180) has certain points of likeness: 

Ore gero gladiuni, matrisque in jjoctore condo, 

Ut mox, qua nunc sunt niortua, viva colas. 
Dux mens a tergo caudamqiie traliens retrahensque 

Ilasta non me ut eam verberat ast alios. 

The modern German and English riddles (Wossidlo 241'; A'oyal Riddle Book., 
p. 18) are of cpiite another sort. 

Hoops (//'A. u. K'p., pp. 499-508) discusses at length early German agriculture, 
and points to the close likeness between the Germanic hook-plow {//a/cenp/liig), 
as preserved in the prehistoric specimen from the moor at D0strup in Jutland, 



114 Kini)i.i;s oi' iiii': i:xi:ikk hook 

:\iul the oltl Ciii'i'k i)lo\v, ot wliich \vi' havo in. my illustrations (ni)tice paiticiilaily 
that on the Iikmi/o hiuki-t lioni Ci-itosa). 'l"lu' specitiially dei manic w hfc'l-i>lo\v, 
' \vhi< h is not touiul anionj; Romans or Ciaiils or Slavs Init whirh was widely known 
anioni; the ('lornuinic races luloie the Carolingian times,' seen\s to be identical 
with the Khaetian wheel-plow, described by I'liny, JWitiOii/ J/is/orv xviii, 172 : 
' l.atioi h.iec [ciisi>is] cjuarto generi [vonieruni] et aciitior in nuicronem fastigata 
eoilenupie glailio scindens solum et .icie laterum radices herbariim secaiis. Non 
prideni inventiun in Raetia (lalliae, ut duas adderent tali rotulas, quod genus 
vocant (^laiiinorati^ It is geiier.iUv .igret'il th.it the liist i)art of plaiiinoiiiti (ac- 
cording to HaisI, ]\"ol(flins Arc/iiv 111, jSi;, /•Idiim or/A'/zw A'li//) correspontls to 
the West derm. /'/i;j,'' (A.-S.//(T^'\ //<>//) and the f^Ioruni of the seventh centur\' l.om- 
b.iul l.iw (editeil bv Roth, jSS (293)). Tlu' .\nj;lo .S.ixons who cvossetl to Hritain in 
til f lilt h cent ui V did not vet jiossess the w oid, \\ Inch w.is liist known to tlieir isl.unl 
in the eleventh century (llehn, Kp.ii. III., igoj, p. 556). Hoops concludes ih.it 
the Anglo-Sa.xon snlli ( 1, at. .»;//, v/.i-, 'furrow'; Greek ?X\w, 'to ili.iw") imlii.iteil 
the old hook-plow (if. ./;/;■//</, A'/'. WII, 201; l''oeistei, /.iit.ulnift fiir R^'iiiii- 
nisihe /Vii/o/i'xi,- \\1\. i-iS). It is notewi>rthy th.it in all the illustrations given 
bv 1 loops these e.iilv hook ]>lows ,ire di.iwn by oxen. l'"or an excellent descrip- 
tion of the 0\<\ Norse plow, see Weinhold. .\Itiio)>iis,lu-.< /</<,■ 11, p. 70. 

.\iubews (0/ii Eni^/is/i .]/,!//(>/-, p. 2:;^) remarks: 'The plow .is it is iiictined 
ami ilesi libed (F.lton, Or/i^'-h/.t of Juti;/is/i Hist., ji. 1 1 (> ; Wright, ('<//, A\<»i,iii aiij 
.S'./ 1 ,';/, p. .' t;() ; R.ui, (,'t:f(-///i/i/c' t/t-s P/liii^es, 1 1 eidelbeig, 1 ,S.( t;, /<,i.\s////) was of a com- 
paratively high Older comjiosed of be.im, tail, share, colter, and wheel ; the latter, 
tluxigh clumsy and ol the sh.ipe of a cut wheel, shows an advanced st.ige of de- 
velopment. It was nioie than a disk of wood bored for an axle, it had felloe, 
spokes, and hub. ("vnewulf's descriptiiMi [ AV,/. 22], tlnnigli jiicturesque, adds little 
s,i\e the oiu' import. mt f.ut tli.it the seeil w.is cist immetliately after the furrow 
w.is turiu'd |/v'.,/. 22 I'], lie oinils mention of the wheel, .md it is not improb.ible 
th.it we are to see the inllueiue of Kom.m ci\ili/ation in the wheel which the 
cilend.ir shows us. It cm li.iitllv be d<>ubted that plows of a much inferior type, 
simil.ir to the piimitixe \.iiieti(.'s which R.iu givt's in his history of the plow, were 
iiseil at this time on many .m I'nglish .igricultuial estate. That representeil in 
llarleian MS. (>o^ has only sh.iie .iiul t.iil of the simplest j^ossible character. The 
irons of the plow were maile by the smith and the wooil work by the wright. The 
smith in the t'olKnpiy tleclares that the plowman was indebted to hini for the jilow- 
share, colter, and gixul. .iiul we know well the character of the smithy, where these 
were maile, with its .uuil, h.immei .uul sledges, tire-sp.uks .iiul bi'llows." 

The illiimin.ited m.inusci i]its are .it wiri.mce leg.irding the form o{' plow. In 
the ilhisti.itions in the ll.irl. MS. 00^. tf. ji y., 51 r., 5.) r.. (>ti y., the ]dows .ire 
of the rudest sort, without wheels; while the plows of the liist picture in the 
.Vnglo-Saxon I'.ilend.irs (Tib. I>. \', Strutt, pi. x; lul. .\. VI) — not a January but 
an April scene, .is 1 ,eo thinks. A'. .V. /',, 207- .iiul of the Canlmon manuscrijit 
{.■hr/iii(-i>/i>i;7ii XX I \', pi. xxviii, xliii) have wheels (compare illustrations from 
the Bayeu.x Tapestry, Knight, /Vc/. ///',iA'/ r 1, 278-271)). .Ml these plows are 
drawn by oxen, urged bv .1 go,ul — usually in the hands of .m .itteiidant herd. 
This use of oxen instead of horses is confirmed by the speech of the plowman 



N()'n:s 



115 



in .V.lfiic's Ci>lh'(fiiy {in/rti) and by siicli accounts of plowing as \vc nieel in Ead- 
mer's story of the field-laborer who failed to observe Ounstan's feast-day (/ VA?, 
§ ^4, Stubbs, Afiinoriiils of Duttstan, p. 24S). In /Klfred's report regarding the 
Norwegian Ohthere, it is mentioned as an exceptional thing that on account of 
his few cattle he did his little plowing with horses (Orosius i, i). 

The account of the IMownian in /V.lfric's Ci'Ihujiiy (WW. 90) exactly conforms 
with the illustrations in Old English manuscripts: 'Arator: Ic ga ut on dajgrod 
l-ywonde oxon to felde and jugie hlg to syl; nys hyt swa stearc winter |'a;t ic durre 
lutian xt ham for ege hlafordes mines, ac geiukodan oxan and gefa.\stnodon sceare 
and cultre (vomere et cultro) mid I'.xre syl .xlce d;v;g ic sceal erian fulne a-cerohhe 
mare . . . ic h.xbbe sumnc cnapan I'ywende oxan mid gadlsene (cum stimulo).' 

22 1' Cf. II I, 320, 35 3 (Kake). 

22 1 Kooiijifo. Sievers, Gr^ 396 b, n. 2, points out that 'ior i^oiit^n 11, North, has 
Lind. ^!;'i\>>/xii (ind. pies, i sg. also ,!,•//< //;,'•<', opt. i,--/// //;'</), Kit. ,j,r"'/C"> .J,''""',V"< but R.^ 
jl'cni^ii (only once ,(,V(>//i,'</).' This diphthongization is 'unknown to the other dia- 
lects' (id. 157.-1; Madert, p. 127). Cf. S/>r. 1,491). 

22 3 hiir liolti's TOoikI. Dietrich (XI, 466) regards this as the ox. Cosijn says 
of the phra.se (yV>V>'. XXI II, 129): ' Eine vortrefHiche kenning fiir das eisen das 
in der form eines beiles den baum anfeindet ; hier bezeichnet sie das pflugeisen.' 
This is also Ilerzfeld's interpretation (p. 39). According to Brooke {£.£.£/(., 
jip. 145-146) the 'hoar enemy of the wood' is the old peasant, hidford mtii (11. 3, 
I 0- I he explanation of C\)sijn and Iler/fekl cannot be accepted, as it is out of 
keeping with the context and with the conception of the plowshare as //<7>(i), 
<'//<'//(//7 (t2), and toh (14). Brooke's rendering has much in its favor; but I per- 
sonally prefer that of Dietrich for two reasons — a plow riddle would be strangely 
defective that omitted all reference to the ox, a great favorite in such poetry 
{Kid. 13, 39. 72), and we meet elsewhere the antithetical phrase holies gelileha 
{E/. 113) applied to the ox's opposite, the wolf. Dr. Bright favors this view. 

22 4 [se] woli. Sievers' reading [<>«] 700/1 is open to the objection that on 700/1, 
which appears frequently, is never found in the sense of 'bent, crooked,' — the 
meaning necessary to the present context. — but always with the idea of 'wrongly,' 
'wrongfully' {S/>r. II, 731; B.-T. s.v.). Dr. l>iit;ht h;ippily suggests [.ir] 7vd/i 
/irrt&, 'who goes bent.' 

22 5'' Cf. 13 s, wcgeiN ond l>y^". 

22 (> sjiwep on swaM"V iiiiii. In the Calend.ir ilhistralions {s/z/rd), a sower 
follows the plowman. 

22 7'^ Cf. 28 2, brungen of bcarwuni (//ont-y). Note the parable in .I'.lfred's Pref- 
ace to the So/ilo(jiiies. 

22 S on WfVgne. Jl'irs;-!! or 7oicit appears frecpiently in the Torcil'ii/arii-x, where 
it g\o&sts f> I a us till m or inrium (see B.-T. s.v.; also Klunip, pji. 115-11(1). We 
meet the word in Jieo7C'. 3134 {7i'irs go/d on 7o,7n /ihidcii) ami in A'////. 23 (//<'• [sc. 
Ing] ofer 7£V/;i,'.^V7iW/, 7oicii ic/ier ran). It is used interchangeably with , ru-f : indeed, 
as Wright points out {Domestic Miinnersy p. 73), Ps. xix, 8, /// ciirriluis, is glossed 
/// 70tTnuin in one version, /'// citctum in the others. Two kinds of wagons are 
mentioned in the Riddles: the common agricultural cart of the present example, 
in connection with the wood of the plow ; and the more patrician chariot of the 



Il6 RlI)l)Li;s OV lllK l-.Xl/lT.K WOOK 

following probloni, 23 g\ 1;''. The cut is nu'nlionoi.1 frcquontlv by the C/uirtirs in 
the references to ■n'a-x'/'ti .C'".>' or the vo\.\\ grant of a ceitaii\ number of loads of 
wood (Kenible. Sii.\i'//s in Kiiglaiui 11, S5). Antl we meet many illustrations in 
the manuscripts. In tlie July picture in the Calendar (Tili. b. \ , Struit, y/.v./.:, 
\>\. xi), workmen are engaged, not oidy in lopping trees and felling timber with 
axes, but in loading with wood a cart, while two yoked oxen stand at the side. 
In the June illustration is another rude cart ; and in Cotton Claudius \\. IV, f. 66, 
67, 6S, 71, ~2y several similar drawings are found. In all these pictures the carts 
are two-wheeled and drawn by oxen, save on f. 6Sv., where the long-eared ani- 
mals attached to a four-wheeled cart are doubtless asses. 

Chariots are of two kinds: the two-wheeled cars drawn bv two horses in the 
illustrations of Luxury in the Trudentius MS., Cott. Cleopatra C. \T11, f. 15 r., 
Ui v., iS V. (see \V right, Doiii. Maimers, p. 7 0. and bv fmir praircing steeds in the 
corresponding pictures of MS. Add. .:4H)9, f. 17, iS, n) (see \Vestwood, Facsini- 
i/t-s, pi. xiv); and the hammock chariots of MS. Claud. B. IV. f. 60 v. and r.. — 
with four wheels and a body of strong hides, — described by Strutt, Ilori/o, p. 4S. 

The two-wheeled wagons of the Anglo-Saxons were doubtless very similar to 
the carts in the bog-tinds at Deibjerg. North Jutland, which h.ue their modern 
counterparts in the Swedish i-iir/\i (Ilu Chaillu, I'ikin^ Ai^t: I. ^04). 

22 s'' Cf. 83 io'\ h.vbbe ic wundra fela. 

22 g-io As Brooke says (/,". /■'.. Lit., p. 146), • It is a vivid picture of an old Knglish 
farmer laboring oi\ the skirts of the woodland. lea\ ing behind him the furrow black 
where the earth is upturned, green where the share has not yet cut the meadow.' 

He rendeis — 

tireon upon one side is ni\ t;,ins;iiii; on; 

Sw.irt upon the other surely is n\y p.Uh. 

22 1.1-14 Andrews (c). E. Manor, p. 253) rightly regards one (v/xv/i/;"/ as the 
coulter, the other as the share. Thorpe places a semicolon after h?afiic\ ai\d 
renders 'fast and forward f.ills at niv side what with teeth 1 tear'; but it is 
better, on account of the usual meanings of /.<.>7 and /Iv^ri't't;/./. Mixed' and 
'prone' (cf. 73 :<.^, for&ii'iarJ, the I.ance; and 22 1, niju-nvearii, nPo/) to associate 
the adjectives with i>J>ir (<)//<'//(//7). G rein. y)/< 7//.. translates • ein anderer fest 
nach vorn gehend fiillt /ur Seite, sodass ich zerre u. s. w." 

22 M tojnnii. Trehn, p. 2j2, points out the parallel between this and the 
Rake riddle. 35 .• (/i,;/',!& ;?/a fi'/xr), but the likeness is produced by the nature of 
the subjects. In WW. Jio. 4. .>///<--/r,'.i7 is the ecpiivalent of i/,-/tfa/i', s. 'est aratri 
pars prima in qua vomer inducitur quasi dens' (see WW. 17, jo ; 3S4. 43). Else- 
where in the JWti/'u/arit-s (Wright II, i;,S. 7-) •'••'.'<• r,\'s.' is the 7;'///,\f. In his long 
discussion of rpasf, lleyne. J-n//f' />\-i, ')<■>■ 1 1. 37. jHMnts out that O. II. G. rios/ar h.\s 
often the same meaning as the Anglo-Saxon. 

22 15 hliKlowoardro. Cosijn (/V>Vi. .J^. 129) notes that the gender of the 
adjective is due to th.it of the riddle-subject (here sPo si///A- This is probably 
true. Trautmann also observes (/>/>'. XIX. iSi): 'Die ae. riitseldichter nehmen 
es. wenn sie einen /u erratenden gegenstand als menschen infiirer\, sehr gen;»u 
mit dem geschlechte.' This is not the case. For a detailed discussion of gram- 
matical gender in the AV(/,//<m-. see Introduction. 



NOTES 117 

RIDDLK 2:J 

This query I have ah'eady considered at length {A/. L. X. XVIII, 102). The 
riddle of the Month with its sixty half-days (^sixii^ moiiiia) is, of course, a variant 
of the Year problem, which in one form or other appears in every land, as Ohlert 
(pp. 122-126), Wiinsche (AW/zj Zs., A\ F. IX (1.S96), 425-456), and Wossidlo 
(pp. 277-27S) have shown. The Anglo-Saxon chariot-motive has long since been 
linked by Dietrich (XI, 457, 466) with Reinmar von Zweter's ' ein sneller wol 
gevierter wagen ' of twelve wheels, which carries fifty-two women and is drawn 
by fourteen horses, seven white and seven black (Roethe, R. von Z., 1S87, KiJ. 
186, 1S7, p. 616). But there are many other analogues, some of which Roethe 
cites. Ilaug, pp. 457 f., translates from the Riovcda I, several Time riddles, in 
one of which (Hymn 164) the year is pictured as a chariot bearing seven men 
(the Indian seasons [?]) and drawn by seven horses; in another (Hymn 1 1) as a 
twelve-spoked wheel, upon which stand 720 sons of one birth (the days and 
nights). Still closer to the Anglo-Saxon is the Persian riddle of the Month 
(Gorres, Das Heldenbiich von Iran, 1820, I, 104 f.), cited by Wiinsche, in which 
thirty knights (the days of the month) ride before the emperor. In the Dispiitatio 
Pippini cum Albino, 6S-70 {Haupts Zs. XIV, 530 f.), the Year is the Chariot of 
the World drawn by four horses. Night and Day, Cold and Heat, and driven by 
the Sun and Moon. And, finally, in the Lilgenindrchen of Vienna MS. 2705, f. 
145 — classed by its editor, Wackernagel {Ilatipts Zs. II, 562), as a riddle — the 
narrator tells how he saw, through the clouds, a wagon, upon which seven crowned 
women sat. and near which twelve trumpet-blowers (^garzuue) ran, and a thousand 
mounted knights rode. 

Der liigenaere nam ck's goume, 

Das si nach dem selben sliten 

Alles vf dem rvolkcn rifen 

Und uvlicn da mite iiber mcr. 

The likeness of these last lines to the desire of the sixty knights in Rid. 23 to 
pass over the sea is peculiarly suggestive. 'Reinmar's riddle,' says Roethe (p. 251), 
•is really popular — that is, it is not drawn directly or indirectly from learned or 
Latin sources.' This is equally true of the Anglo-Saxon problem; still, we must 
feel that, like Reinmar's poem, it has come to us from an artist's hand. 

Trautmann's solution, ' Die Briicke,' blindly ignores every motif oi the riddle, 
which has surely naught in common with Symphosius 62, Pons. 

23 2 ■\vioguni rlclan. Horses were never used for plowing (see Rid. 22), nor 
for farm-labor, — drawing of wood in carts, or the bringing home of the harvest, 
— but only for the chariots of the rich or as steeds of the upper classes. No /(Vtm 
was mounted (see Rid. 20). That the rich were fond of horses is shown by the 
numerous illustrations in the manuscripts (Wright, Domestic Manners, pp. 71-72), 
and by the various synonyms for hors or tczV.C- See Hehn, Kp. n. lit., 1902, pp. 
19-55 I ^^^ Heyne, Fiinf Biicher \\, 167 f. 

23 3-4 Dietrich (XI, 466) meets the difficulty in these numbers by regarding 
the month as December, which has seven holy-days, the feasts of Mary (Recep- 
tion), St. Nicholas, St. Thomas, Christmas, Stephen, St. John the Evangelist, 



Il8 RIDDLKS OK THE KXl^TKR BOOK 

and tliL' Innocents. Thuse with tlie four Sumlays (.i-,v</w,?,v, • white horses') make 
up the eleven steeds of the troop. 1 reject the MS. reading /;7"<///tV/^v.i7(/.f, which 
Dietrich (XII, 251) renders 'stately horses' (see note to 109); but, instead of 
substituting with Thorpe y'iv<///f//j,'-t'jY(/j-, * war-horses,' I prefer to read /;-/^//t'//- 
'^estas, ' horses of peace.' Compounds with /ri& are common, and this reading 
exactly fits the context. The horses are the eleven peace-days of December, for 
fri& was established on these holy-tides by the strictest laws (Schmid, (Jesctzc; 
pp. 5S4-t;S5, s. V. Fricde). Cf. ylithelred's Lams, v, 19: 'And beo |)am halgum 
tidum eal swa hit riht is, eallum cristenum mannum sib and som genijene, and 
a;lc sacu getwSmeil.' If December be our month, the other bank (23 20) is, of 
course, the New Year. 

Dr. Bright suggests that 'the eleven horses' may be the days between Christ- 
mas and Twelfth Night counted exclusively, and contrasts Orm's inclusive count- 
ing of thirteen days {On/iii/iiiHy iio6of. ; see White's note, II, 403). He points 
to the Christmas year-beginning so well known to the Anglo-Saxons. 

234 sceamas. ]oxAm\ no\.Q%, Alteiiglisc/ie Saiti;;etier>i(ii/ien,^. 115: ' Die Worter- 
blicher fassen stc'-dw, wohl wegen des in demselben Katsel, z. iS, folgenden i>/on- 
c(i/i als Synonymon da/.u, also als " weisses Fferd, Schimmel." Diese Deutung 
lasst sich auch etymologiscli rechtfertigen : sci'am = *s/:aii-tn(i gehiirt zur Wz. 
*skati "schauen" (ae. sceaividii, ahd. scoiiwou) woher Got. skninis, ahd. skoiii, ae. 
scieue, " schcin," w&. sheen "hell," " gliinzend," bedeutet also eigentlich "das An- 
sehnliche, Glanzende" (*.fX-(7//-w/j = " sehens wert," " ansehnlich"). Gestiitzt 
wird diese Auffassung durch das mit ae. sci-ain im Ablaut stehende anord. s/cjoiie, 
" Apfelschimmel " (daneben skjoine, " flackerndes Licht, Strahl").' See Kluge, 
Etvm. W'lb. s. V. schon. 

23 s ofer mere. Barnouw. ]i. 217, notes that in the Riddles the sea is often 
mentioned (Herzfeld, pp. 22-23), ^"' never with the article. y& is, however, an 
exception to this : 61 6'', yS sTo brune (see I\[et. 26 29-30, sic brune | yJS). 

23 7 atol y]'a j?(»]>raH'. Cf. 3 2, under yha gehra^c ; And. 823, ofer y^"a gehrrcc; 
Exod. 455. atol yl>a gewealc. 

23 8^ Cf. Ps. 65 5, )>a strangan streamas. 

239'' \vit'jjj soiiKxl. So Beiuc. 2175. 

23 10 uiidtT hriiiifje. Grein says (S/>r. II, 109): ' Wagenrunge, aber bei den 
Ags. wol nicht wie im Ilochd. die Leiterstiitzen, sondern die Sparren oder Reife 
des Wagendaches.' Bosworth-ToUer, s.v. renders 'the pole that supported the 
covering.' But, as the word does not occur elsewhere, these definitions are de- 
termined by the context in the present passage. 

23 1 1 eh. Ettm. remarks : 'f// = ^(V/ hoc loco gen. neutr. videtur esse ; ni potius 
e/i = ah, dc scribi debeat, ita ut dc, quercus, h.l. navem significet.' 

23 11'' So And. 1097, a2scum dealle. 

23 13 Grein's conjecture, esla, seems much more in accord with the context 
than the MS. esua. Moreover, the illuminated manuscripts furnish ample evidence 
that the mtrs^ti was sometimes drawn by asses (see note to 22 s, on uHri^ue, and 
Heyne, Fiiiif Piiclier II, 177). Tims in our passage every kind of draught animal 
is mentioned. 

23 13-17 This part of the enigma suggests Kid. 40 in its negative method. 



NOTES 



119 



23 m fu'thongost. Grein {Sfr. I, 274), B.-T. s.v., and Jordan {AltcngUsche 
SdugetUr)uu)uii, p. 115), unite upon this reading, comparing sT&fict for tiie first 
member of the compound and translating ' road-horse,' which seems preferable 
to Duht. 'ein feisster Ilengst.' Dr. Bright suggests /<?/ heiigest, 'caparisoned 
steed.' 

23 lo lagii drefde. So //.J/. 20; cf. 82, wado drcfe. — on lyftc lleag. Cf. 
52 4, fleag on lyfte. 

23 i8 bloncan. The word is found in two other places in the poetry, Bemo. 
856 and El. 1 1S4. Jordan (p. 1 15) notes : ' blottca, der glanzende (sc. eoh) wird der 
Schimmel genannt,' thus identifying the word with scecuiias (23 4). On the other 
hand, Ileyne-Socin, in discussing the Ziemait// pusfiage (p. 149), regards the color 
as ' vielmehr die apfelfarbe.' Egilsson {Lex. Poet., p. 59) cites many examples of 
O. N. blakkr, ' equus,' and Cleasby-Vigfusson, p. 67, points to Blanka, the mythi- 
cal horse of Thideric (Dietrich) of Bern. The O. H.G. blanc-ros is discussed by 
Pomander, A lid. Tierfiamett, Darmstadt, 1899, P- 8- (cited by Jordan). Blonca, 
with its cognates, appears to be used generally in the sense of ' a noble horse,' 
without reference to color. 



RIDDLE 24 

Prehn (pp. 188 f.) fails completely to establish any relation between this 'Bow' 
riddle and the enigmas of Symphosius (65, Sagitta) and Tatwine (32, Sagitta ; 
34, Pharetni). That the likeness of Rid. 24 2 to Tatwine 32 1-2 is accidental is 
attested by the variant of the Anglo-Saxon line in another weapon-riddle (21 i). 
As my notes show, this problem has much in common with Rid. 18 and 21. It is 
interesting to compare the ' Arcus ' enigma of Scaliger (Reusner I, 172), and the 
Norse query of the 'Bogi' (Landstad, No. 5): 

Sme'Ren smitiaS, 
smeSkeringi spann, 
i hagin deN voks, 
i holti de'(S rann ; 
deS er aldri sd liti'S, 
de"S drep 'ki ein niann. 

Although, owing to the decay of wood, no trace of bows has been found in the 
Anglo-Saxon graves, yet important evidence for the use of the bow, both for war 
and the chase, is found not only in such manuscripts as Cleop. C. VIII, Claud. B. 
IV, Tib. C. VI, and the Prudentius MS. of the Tenison library (compare Keller, 
p. 51, Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, Bk. ii, chap, i; Horda, pi. xvii fig. 2, pi. xxii 
figs. 23, 24, 25), but everywhere in the literature. So numerous are the appear- 
ances of bow and arrows in the poetry of battle (Keller, pp. 198 f.) that it is 
difficult to appreciate the reasons for Akerman's assertion that it was not com- 
monly used by the Anglo-Saxons as a weapon of war {Arc/iaeologia XXXIV, 171). 
Our riddle, which has no learned source, is conclusive upon this point (compare, 
too, the last lines of the Leiden Riddle); and the Beowitlf aiiords many examples 
of its use in war (1433, 1744. 31 14). 



120 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

Akerman is perhajjs wrong in declaring tliat no arrow-heads iiave been found 
in Anglo-Saxon graves {Afr//aeo/i>x'-ia XXXIV, 171), for, as Hewitt points out in his 
Ancient Armor and Weapons in Europe I, 55, 'some have been found in Kentish 
interments, and others on the Chatham lines.' It is possible that these are spear- 
heads. The Anglo-Sa.\on use of the bow has been discussed at length by Professor 
Cook in his note to Christ, 765 {J'riC^^dbogaii). See also Brooke, E.E.Lit., pp. 125, 
128, 129, 131. 

The Bow is described in the Ruiiii Poem, 84 : 

Yr by)) a'|>eling;i wvn ond eorla geh\va>s 
wyn and \\ yrl'inynd, byj) on wicge f:fger, 
f;i'stllc on f:riL'Uie, fyrdgeatewa sum. 

In the Old Norse runic poem (Wimmer, pp. 2S0, 286), yr appears both as ' yew' and 
as ' l)(>\v.' The etymological connection between O. E. ?oh, 'yew,' and O. N.rr justi- 
fies the conclusion that the .\nglo-Saxon bow was made from the yew-tree (Cook, 
Christ, p. 159). 

24 \ Agof. ./^.'/V') inverted is of course boga. For the relation of the word 
to the supposed date of the Kii/dies, see Sievers' discussion, Anglia XIII, 15, 
which I have summarized in the Introduction. 

24 2 Prehn, p. 188, finds a likeness between this and Tatwine 31 1-2: 

.Vrniigeros inter Miirtis me Liella subire 
Obvia f.ita juvant. 

But note that almost the same line appears in the description of the Sword, 21 i. 

244,9 Cf. 18 I). The use of poisoned arrows among the Anglo-Sa.\ons, to 
which frequent reference is made in both their poetry and prose {Ami. 1331,////. 
471, Maid. 47, 146, WW. 143, 7, /)'/. //('///. 199, 17-19, Life of St. Guthlac, Good- 
win, 26, 28), has been considered at length by Professor Cook in his note to Christ, 
76S, dttres ord (see also Keller, p. 51). 

24 5 Compare the relation of the loaldetid to the Sword (21 .(-<') and of the />V(7 
to the Ballista (18 5). 

247 leiigre. Cosijn (/'/>' />'. XXIII, 129) would read leiigra, because boga is 
masculine; but the poet may be referring to tiv/// (1. 2); cf. 25 7, glado. Kid. 41 
gives ample proof that in our poems no such regard is shown to grammatical 
gender as Cosijn and Trautmann assume (see Introduction). 

248 spil(l«' gi'bloiHlen. Cf. Sat. 129, attre geblonden. 

249 ealfelo ilttor. Cf. And. 770, iittor a;lfa;le. — RPap. The word appears 
only here. Thorpe regards it as an adjective and renders 'crafty.' Grein {Spr. I, 
504) and B.-T. s.v. derive i\om. geopan, 'cava manu includere,' 'to take up,' which 
they connect with Icel. gaupna, 0. 11. G. coii/an, Scot, gojcpen, ' to lift or lade out 
with the hands.' The a.d']. geap is of like origin. 

24 10 togongoff. Only here in this sense, ' pass away ' ; but compare the use 
of tofaran in a similar context {Lehd. I. 122, 18, syle drincan on wine, eal "Saet 
attor tofier)'). 

24 11'^ Cf. 44 1(1, he ic her ymb si)rece. See also Met. 10 45, 16 n, 20 3,4. 

24 12'' Cf. 18 6, me of hrife ileogaX. 



NOTES 121 

24 13 The metaphor of ' death's drink ' is elaborately expanded, Git. 953 f. : 

bry'Sen \va;s oiigunnen 
haette Adame Eve gebyrnide 
xt fruman worulde : feoiid byrlade 
Srest |>Sre idese / and heo Adame, 
hyre swiusum'were, siSSan scencte 
bittor bSdeweg, ))a;s t>a byre siSSan 
grimnie onguldon gafulraidenne 
\t\\x\\ a-rgewyrlit, |)a;tte it-nig ne wa;s 
fyra cynnes from fruman siS'San 
mon on moldan, I'ffitte meahte liim 
gebeorgan end bibiigan )>one bleatan drync 
deopan dea'6'weges. 

Budde, Die Bedeutimg der Triiiksitteit, p. 93, cites a similar passage from Ltid- 
wigslied, 52. For purchase by death, see Beow. 3012, l>Sr is maSma hord, grimme 
gecea[po]d. 

Grein renders, Dk/it., 

So dass der Kempe den Todestrank niit suiner Kraft tezahit, 
Den Fiillbeclier fest niit seinem Leben. 

24 14 fullAA'er. I believe with Dr. Bright that we must reject the reading of 
MS. and editors, y«// 7ver, and X&2.6. fullwer, ' complete wer' or 'wergild,' 'complete 
recompense for a life.' Cf. TElfred's Laws, § 23, 2 (Schmid, Gesetse, p. 84), />e 
ftillan were. As Bright notes, the accusative is in grammatical apposition to 
mdndriju. 

RIDDLE 25 

The subject of this riddle, I/igora or 'Jay,' has already been discussed by me 
under I\id. 9, which I believe to have a like solution. Dietrich (XI, 466-467) 
cites several references to show that ' Picus,' which glosses the word in Anglo- 
Sa.xon vocabularies (WW. 287,9, 'picus, //4'-i?;7;'; 260, 14, 'picus, /ligere'; 39,36, 
'picus, /i/'gre'), cannot refer to the common Woodpecker ('Specht'), but must 
refer to the />i<a glandaria of Pliny {Nat. Hist, x, 42), the Klaaa. of the Greeks. 
The 'Specht' riddle of Strassburg Rb., No. 9S, and its Latin copy by Lorichius 
(Reusner I, 276) are totally unlike the Anglo-Saxon. It is interesting to note 
that Isidore's description of the ' Picae ' (xii, 7, 46) shows that he had in mind the 
garrulous bird of our riddles : ' Per ramos enim arborum pendulae importuna 
garrulitate sonantes, etsi linguas in sermone necjueunt explicare, sonum tamen 
humanae vocis imitantur.' So in Vincent of Beauvais, Speciiliiin jYaturale XVI, 
32, the pie is called 'pica loquax,' 'pica garrula'; cf. Pliny x, 42. Note also 
Chaucer's 'jangling pye ' {Pari, of Fojiles, 345). Whitman {Journal Germ. P/iil., 
II (1898), 161) says: 'Riddle 25 is sometimes interpreted as the jay, but as the 
name of the bird is formed by the runes G. A. R. 0. H. I, it must be higora, the 
woodpecker, although this bird is not generally considered a mimic' 

Dietrich seems to be right in supposing that the jay, a near relation of the pie 
or pica, is meant (see Hessels, Leideti Glossary, 1906, p. 16S): (i) 'Picus' and 



122 Kii)i)i.i:s oi'- 'riii-. i:.\i; TKR iuiok 

' ric:i' are fre<|uoiitly I'cnfused in llic nlossaiics (Pii ("ango, Cj7i>ssiiri/////,s.\'. Gaia; 
WW. 702, 4, '/iiiis, />ii<i, a pye '), and ihe bird-names ' graculus,' 'garulus,' wliicli 
arc associated with //ti;rii- or /ligrr in iho Anglo-Saxon vocabularies, later apply to 
the jay; (2) Iliilicr, 'the jay,' is the modern equivalent of /lix'ora (Kluge, J-'Jyin. 
//?/'. s. v.), and, indeed, is glossed 'garrulus' in M.H.G. (Mone, Anz. VIIl, 399, 
cited by Dietrich I.e.). By 'garrulus' or 'graculus' Aldhelm evidently means 
the thieving magpie (/V I.aiidihiis Viri^iniini^ Giles, 142). Mliller (Ci'thcncr Pro- 
i^riiiinn, p. 16) believes that by //ii^viii the ' corvus glandarius' or • jay' is intended. 
The lines of /v'/</. 25 should be compared (says Mliller) with 'was Naumann 
in seiner .\'i7/i//Xi-s</i/</ih' lAv /'i';vv/ Jfciitsclilaiids, II, 125, uber den aus \ielen 
sonderbaren und iiusserst verschiedenen bald gurgelnden und sclnvatzcndcn, bald 
l>feifeiuU'ii oder kreisclKMulen 'I'uncn zusannnengesetzten Gesang des Eichel- 
hehers sagl, welcher die Stimmc lies Miiusebussard, aber auch der KJitze, ja 
das Wiehern eines Fiillens. die schirkenden Tone die beim Scharfen der Sage 
entstehen, das Gackern des lluhns, das Kickerikie des llahnes nachahme.' Grein 
{Dii/it. II, 220, S/<r. II, 72) and Wiilker (/>'//'/. Ill, i, 19S) had already cited the 
'berna' ('verna') lemma of /i/'xnr, /n'x-rc; in Ciloss. Kpin. 156, Corp. MS. 290 (WW. 
9, i) and MS. Cleop. A. Ill (WW. 358, 5), but it was reserved for Frl. Emma 
Sonke {/•'iii;/. Stn,/. XXXVII, 313-318), to champion at length the 'scurra' or 
' mime ' interpretation. l>y reference to Strutt, S/'or/s and l\istiiiics, p. 346. Cham- 
bers, Miuii,i-i'itl Stage 1, 71, Schultz, ]^as IiofLulie Lcbcii, p. 443, n. 3, she shows 
that these mimes couUl iniilate the sounds of all aiiim.ils. Vet, if on account of 
tiiis power the mime was known .is the Higora or ' ja\,' we must smely assume 
the same mimicry on the part of the V)ird from which the name is derived. In- 
deed we are told ex|iressly in Rid. 9 i)-io that the bird has mimetic power. Rid. 25 
simply elaborates the hint of the earlier riddle. It is needless to devote any con- 
sideration to the e.\travagant conclusions drawn by Frl. Sonke from the single 
runes in Rid. 25. 

25 \ Avra'sne iiiiiio sl«'l'iu». C'f. 9 1-3. 

25 .! llnltiiauscn yl-'./igl. Stud. XXX\'II, 207) regards the line as metrically 
false because liiiiid not only must alliterate [7i'//)' .''], but also should be inverted, 
since one expects /r.cl/inn sivd hiDid biorcc [again i^'liy ?"[. He therefore believes 
tliat the first half-verse was originally a second, in which case the verb preceding 
may alliterate in descri])tions. As a first half-verse he would emend the text to 
read /m'tliini bi-llc s"i.i<d bcarg, or perhaps biccc for It und. His very ]iremises are 
based u]Kin a false a-priori conception of metrical demands that is blind to all 
contrary evidence. .F.lfric savs in his Grammar, 22: 'Hit bi|' swiNe Nyslic N.vt se 
man beorce oNNe bliete.' 

25.1 ie oiihypf^e. Cf. 9 10, hlude onhyrge. — llils^villl earn. See my discussioii 
of 12 1, /lasofilg. As I there jioinled out, /lasii or iiasiipad {/^ri<n. 62) as an epithet 
of eagle is synonymous with .uiIo7c<ig/<ildii {earn), Jiid. 210. Whitman {Journal 
Germ. Phil. II, 16S) notes that 'at present two species of eagle are natives of 
Britain, the golden eagle {ai/nila e/iry.<;ai-tus) and the white-tailed eagle {//aliaett/s 
albiiilla), both of which were probably known to the .\nglo-Saxons. In the Battle 
of Brunanbiirh (63) the bird described as 'white behind* {uftan hunt) is un- 
doubtedlv the white-tailed ea^l(•. but the war-easile, usuallv called dark-feathered 



NOT MS 123 

(sa/070i\r/>d</.>). is probably the golden eagle, known in Scotland as the black 
eagle/ This distinction was hardly recognized by the Anglo-Saxons, niasmuch as 
in the Bnnuutlmrh passage hiisopdchm precedes ,rftan kwlt. 

For the association of the eagle with war, see lUo-.v. 3026, Jud. 2m, Kl. 29. .///,/. 
863, ;1/.:/7. IC7, /.V/r//. 63. 

25 5 KuOluKli's hir.o]M>r. The eagle is called earn, i^^rwdigne gu&hafoc {hrin,. 
64) and not only his coal but his song {/,Udcl?o&) is mentioned in the detailed 
description in Jnd. 209-212. For other references in both poetry and prose, see 
Whitman, p 172.- glklaii. As Whiln.an shows (p. 169), this is the ' milvus,' the 
kite or glede. Gilbert While, l.cllcr X I AT (Harrington), says, accurately enough: 
•Thus kites and buz/.ards sail round in circles with wings expanded and molu.n- 
less; and it is from their gliding manner that the former are still called m Uu.- 
north of I'.ngland gleads, from the Saxon verb x'lidtui, " to glide."J 

25 6 nia-wos son'A. Whitman (p. 180) notes that the name ni<c7a (Clerm. ,>,o7ve, 
Icel. mdr) was perhaps originally imitative of the cry of the bird. Vi. Se.,/. 22, 
mSw singende ; A,uL 37'. se grSga maiw. Every one will recall the hue m Clnkle 
Harold's ' Farewell,' ' And shrieks the wild sea-mew.' 

257 glado. Cosijn (/V.VA XXIII, 129) would explain the feminine forn> by 
reference not to I/h^on, bul to wiht (25 ■)■ B"t. as we have seen, hif^ora and 
hi^rre are used interchangeably in the Glosses, and the riddler evidently wrote 
without any clear idea of the sex of the bird. This view is supported by ihe fem. 
ending in sacrnugc, 9,. where the Jay is also indicated. -inec ucinnaO. bee 
another bird-riddle, 58 6, NemnalS hy sylfe. 



RIDDLE 2(i 

That the 'Onion 'or 'Leek' motive, suggested by Dietrich (XI, 467), domi- 
nates this riddle as well as KuL 66, is proved by many modern analogues. The 
•Onion' problem in Noyal RuUk /Wsp. .., reads like a literal Iranskil.on of 

the Anglo-Saxon : 

III till- bod il sliiiuls, ill the bed it lies, 

Its lofty neb looks to the skies : 

The Ijigger it is the good wife loves 't better, 

She pluckt it and suckt it, till her eyes did water. 

She took it into her hand, and said it was good. 

Pill it in her telly and stirred up her blood. 

The tears caused by the onion are a common theme of German lyksrdiscl, as 
Wossidlo No. 192, p. 294, shows. One trait in the problem (2 b-3, na;ngum scel-l-e 
nymhe bonan anum) led Lange and Dietrich (XII, 240) to accept I'.oulerwek's 
solution KOrdmon I. p. 3>o), ' Hemp,' as this punishes murderers (see my article, 
M.L X XVIII, 103). But, as I have .shown (id. XXI, 10), the 'Hemp 'answer does 
not fit the last line of our riddle, and the historical evidence is overwhelmingly 
on the side of Onion. Ihman is used in the general sense of ' destroyer ' (AW. 66, 
•Onion': bIteN mec on b;vr lie, brice.'S mine wisan) ; and 26 ^'^-^ is but an adapta- 
tion of the motive in the Symphosius 'Onion' riddle, No ,1 : " M'-r^l^"' mordentes; 



124 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



ultro non mordeo quemquam.' This is followed in J\id. 66 5-6, admitted by all to 
be 'Onion' or 'Leek,' which has also in common with our problem the motives 
of ' loss of head' (26 s, 66 2'', 3'') and ' confinement in a narrow place ' {26 g"*, 66 3^) 
— strong evidence for a common solution. Walz (^Harvard Studies \T, 263) 
argues for ' Mustard,' from its pungency, causing the eyes to water, its place in 
the garden-bed, its loss of head; but. as Trautmann points out (^BB. XL\, 1S5), 
the riddle with which he sustains his solution (Simrock, Dejttsches Kdtselbmh H, 
84) is really an ' Onion ' problem. Trautmann's own solution, ' Rosenbutz ' or 
' Hip,' is even less fortunate. It certainly does not accord with the demands of 
the problem as well as 'Onion' {infra). In riddle-literature, 'Rosenbutz' is not 
only never associated with these motives, but when its kinsman ' Ilagebutte ' 
appears as a theme it is in a 'Cherry-Arbutus' group {M.L.X. XVIII, 6; see 
Introduction), whicli cannot be misconstrued into any real relation to our 
problem. 

Hoops remarks {U'l>. tt. A'p., p. 601): ' Stattlich ist die Zahl der Zwiebel- und 
Laucharten. Es wurden gebaut : die Zwiebel ("Allium cepa," L. ; cipe, yiuieleac 
oder }nvitl?ac), der gewohnliche Lauch oder Porree ("Allium porrum," L.; leac 
oder/crAwc), der Knoblauch (" Allium sativum," L. ; gdrleac) und der Schnittlauch 
(" Allium schoenoprasum," L. ; sccgleac).'' 

The history of the onion and leek among the Indo-Europeans from the earliest 
times is exhaustively discussed by Hehn, Kp. u. I/t., 1902 edition, pp. 191-205. 

262'' iitT'iifiuin soe]7]>e. Cf. Az. 176, nSngum sceSe'S ofnes jeled. 

26 4 The second half-line is obviously hypermetric, if we read with Edd. /leah 
stojide ic on bcddc. Ilolthausen {Atiglia, Bh. IX, 357) suggests that Jteali be com- 
bined with stcap (with stcapliiah cf. /u-a/isfi-ap. Gen. 2S39), and we shall then have 
a first half-line of type A (yx X x | ^ ::_) with the second foot a compound (see 
Frucht, p. 3S). Trautmann {BB. XIX, 1S7) regards /leah as a later addition. He 
believes that ic is superfluous and not necessary for the meter; and that the poet 
wrote stondu on hedde. This method of elimination is surely very simple and 
effective — but fatal to serious criticism of a text. 

26 4-5 This motive appears in ' Onion ' riddles of widely different periods. Com- 
pare the Old Norse popular problem, Hei&reks Gdtitr, 8 (cited by Dietrich XI, 
467); and the seventeenth-century French enigma {Reczieil des Enigmes de ce 
Temps, Rouen, 1673, I' ^o. 53, p. 27) : 

Le meilleur de nion corps se tien cache sous terre, 
L'autre devers le ciel va sa teste levant. 



On est de nvapprocher tellement curieux 

Que bien qu'en m'approchant les pleurs viennent aux yeux. [Cf. Rid. 269-11]. 

265 ruh natlnvser. So in the other obscene riddles: 46 i, weaxan nathwast ; 
62 q, ruwes nathwaet ; 63 8, on nearo nathwsr. 

26 6'^ ceorles. See Rid. 28 s'\ ealdnc ceorl. The term is applied to men of 
humble rank, probably to freemen of the lowest class, and is employed in our 
riddles as a synonym for csne (28 S, 16). A simitar use of the word is met in Ltuvs of 
j^&elherht ^^l (Schmid, p. 10), ' Gif man mid esnes cwynan geligeS be cwicum 



NOTES 125 

ceorle, II gebete.' In connection with the use of the word in the Anglo-Saxon 
prose-riddle (see my note to 44 14), Forster points out {//err/i^'s Arcliiv CXVI, 
36S-369) that ccorl is employed not only of ' man,' as distinguished from 'woman,' 
in this sense often ' husband,' but of the lowest grade of freemen, to which 
the smallest landholders or peasants belonged. — eeorles dolitor. The bondi's 
daughter appears in the Icelandic riddles (/. C. 49). Cf. 465, )>codnes dohtor. 

26 7 Cf. 46 3-4, On I'nct banlease bryd grapode | hygewlonc hondum. 

26 s Trautmann suggests i^BB. XIX, 187) that the subject of the riddle must 
be masculine on account of the form ri'odne, and therefore proposes as the rid- 
dler's topic heopa or haga. Of the Anglo-Sa.\on names for onion, cipe is feminine 
and /runtleac is neuter. But in the riddles there is no such strict insistence upon 
grammatical gender as Trautmann would have us believe (see Introduction). 
Trautmann in his text retains MS. reading, and translates ' auf mich roten zufahrt,' 
but afterwards suggests rierc& mec reodne (188); but his defense of this is vitiated 
by his false solution of the riddle. The proposed change seems to me too violent, 
and not necessary, as rSsan followed by on with the accusative is a common 
idiom (see Spr. II, 368). In his text Grein follows the reading of the MS., but in 
a note conjectures r(cre& and on reo&jte (' zur Riittelung'). In his translation he 
renders ' erhebt mich zur Riittelung.' In Spr. II, 368, 374, he reverts to the text 
of MS. and translates the verb by 'mittere' (a transitive use not found elsewhere) 
and renders oti reodne (< reoden) as above. Sievers, PBB. IX, 257, suggests reone 
(Cr.8 301, n. 2). Dr. Bright proposes on /ireode (' reed,' ' stalk '). I can see no ob- 
jection to the MS. reading. The order ri£se& mec on reodne finds abundant support 
in the very similar j^hrase, 13 13, swtfe& me geond sweartne; and reodne, 'red,' is 
fitly applied to the outer skin of the onion and meets the demands of the double- 
entente. 

26 8'' reafaS min heafort. Hehn, /v/. /'■■ //^., 1902, p. 195, seeks to show that 
the Latin cepa, ' onion,' contains the notion of ' head,' cepa capilata, and points to 
«a far-distant stage of speech, when capnt and KecpaXij had not developed their 
suffixes.' But, as Schrader says in his note upon this passage (ib. 205), the con- 
nection of Gr. Kdrrto, Lat. cepa, with the Indo-Germanic words for ' head,' is exceed- 
ingly doubtful, and presents the gravest etymological difficulties (cf. Kluge s.v. 
Haupi). It is interesting, however, to note with Hehn (I.e.) that among the 
Italian Locrians the word /ce0aXiJ could also mean an onion-head (Polybius, xii, 6), 
and that a play upon the words caput and cepa is found in Ovid's Fasti, iii, 339. 

26 </' Cf. 62 6, on nearo fegde. 

26 II ^vTf wundenlocc. Curled or braided locks were regarded by the Anglo- 
Saxon as an accessoiy of beauty. The twisted hairs of the fair Judith are twice 
mentioned in the Old English poetic version ^Jnd. 77, 103, 7vundenlocc) ; and 
in that poem the Hebrews are described with the same epithet (326). The trans- 
lator of ' De Creatura,' Kid. 41 98-99, employs the phrase Invite loccas, ivraste ge- 
wiindne (see also 41 104, wundne loccas); and the glossators in the Royal and 
Cambridge MSS. (Napier, O. E. Glosses, pp. 191, 195) render Aldhelm's 'calamis- 
tro ' ' curling-iron ' (1. 47), by J>rezuelspinle and wolcspinle. In the glosses to Ald- 
helm's De Laudibus Virginitatis, ' calamistro ' is translated by firdwincspinle or 
/larnadla (//ai/pts Zs. IX, 435, 7 ; 513, 75 ; 526, 46). It is in this tract, De Laudibus 



126 



1 DDll'S Ol" ■nil". I'A'lVri'.K I'.OOK 



l'ii\i;^i)ii/it/is, xvii (( iilcs, p. I ■;), tli.it A Klliclm ilcsri ilics t lie li.iii ilifssini; ol tlic Aii);l(> 
S;iX()ii l.nlit's: 'Isl.i loilis (iMnlniioium i niiihns i.il.imislio ( i isp.iiit ihus ilclitatt' 
i'(>ni|iiiiii el nihil) i ulcnis stiMo j^cii.iN .u ni.iiulil >ul.is su.iliiii tin .lie s.ita^it.' I.oiif; 
li.iii w.is t lie sii^u cit I ii'i-iloin. Iiiwifioihorr ■ I in- w nin.iii w il li ( in Is oi lldwinj; 
h.iil ' is the pill. ISC of /,/,i'.r i'/ .J''.&€'ll<i-r/lt § 7 ', (Si 1 1111 id, |> S), ( 'niiip.iic Sli.iion 
'riiiiiii, \ 11, I li.ip. \ ; ( luiuiucif, (iciiHiUiic Ori^^nis, pp. di f . ; iiifia, note to A'.,/. 
41 ..s 

III his ilisi iissioii ol /.'.,.,'. ;it;i, l'iiiidcnheoiiit\ lUigj.io, /'/>/!. \!l, 110, shows 
til. it this .uljcitivi' (loi wliiili (iifiii I (Mils .■(■'// //</f7///<'<'/i/(') I'll'^'t I'l' it'inlcu'd ' init 
).;rliiiiiilfiu'ii loi kin," .uul is ihr ' cpit hclou ili'i .illtii li.iu im m'i;t'us.it/ /ii den 
ui.uK hru. dcici li.i.ii liii hci.iM.illt' (.1. ro).',.itsilici ,./ //^'.V.;, /•','•. \ll, lc).S). 

2611 \\:v\ l>l'(V I'ii't «Ni;iC. (M this |)iftliili s.iys, siijipoi t ill;; the ' I 1 cmp ' solii 
lion (Xii, .'p'): • I >.is duiiklc elide des i.itsels lie/ieht piol'essol l..iii;;e .iiif di'll 
l.ulen, del .ills deiii r.elMii hen 101 ken r.ei.iiill iiiul il.iiin /wisehen den tin^ein 
eiiii;eeni',l diiu h il.is i;eliil del spiiineiin i;leu lim.issii; L;eluldet wild; d.is .uij;e 
;d>ei, well lies d,il>ei duiih den lienet/ti'ii liiii;ei leiulit wild, ist die ollnuni; del 
t'liedeiii olien dm i hlioli 1 1 en spindel.' This is o\ ci w I oiiL;ht. lint Ti .ml in. inn 
i};noies the ol)\ions expl.in.il ion in his ende.nur lo leiidei r..'^r not 'ese ' Imt 
■iiii'iilh.' These .lie ilespei.ile .ittempls to liolslei we.ik scdulions. Not onl\' in 
the liddles lh.it I h.ive lited, Init e\ei\wlieie in litei.iliiie .md lite, the onion 
I'. (uses eves to w.itei. .Sli.ikespe.iie is lull ot e\.mi|>les : .1.11'. \, ;, 5JI, ' Mine 
eyes smi'll onions ; 1 sli.dl w eep .111011 ' ; ./.,///,/('. i, J, I /o, 'The t<Mis live in ;in 
onion Ih.it shoidil w.ilei this soiiow"; il). iv, -'. ,iS I '''^'- Iheie is nothing oli- 
senie or diltu nil in the line, ,iiid the oliseene iniplii ,il ion is ol)\ ions. 



Kl MDIM "JT 

riehn. pp. li)0 li)',, li.is pointeil out the likeness of this • I'.ook ' liildle to v.iii 
oils I .itin ' r.iuhnieiit ' ,uul ' Ten ' eninni.i.s. .\t the fount. liii he. id ot these st.iiul 
.■\Klliehn \, g, /'<• /'nt;i//tt/ifi/i.r, and \, '„ /'<■ /V>i>/(i AV/v/Avvi/, whieh supply the 
motives of r.itwiiio 5, /'<• .l/(-w/'/, ;//.', and d, /'.• /\-i:>,\:, aiul i.^ I'nsebiiis ;.-, 
yV .l/(V///'/i?///.v, ami ',5, /*(■ ri'iniii. In foiin \^{ phi.ise the l>eL;iiiiiliii; and einl 
of the Anglo .S.ixon problem leseiiiMe not .1 liltle the liist .nul l.ist lines of the 
littli enigiu.i k\\ 'I'.ilwine (^iiifr,/), but, in the li;dil of the sliong neg.iti\e t'\ idenee 
i)f the other lCi\glisli qiieiies a};.iinst iliiei i l>oi low iiij;, I .mi iiu lined to leg.iul the 
first lesemhl.tnee as a eoiiuMtleiu e of f.uu \ voiulitioneii 1>\' the n.itnie of the siib- 
ji'i I, .iiid, like the si'iond, piesenting .1 eoniinonpl.u c of liddles of this kind [//t/ra). 
The • MenilM.in.i ' enigni.i i>{ i'od. Inin, oil. \o, :.\ (Kiese 1, 1 , ;oo) is an in- 
ti'iestins; an.ilogne ; .md llie in. my l!ook liddles of the /sli'mkiir ditiir (No.s. j.|i, 
,>-'), ;oo, y'^.|. S')i), I'll), 711. ')oO pieseni insluuti\e parallels. A'/,.-' 68. ' lUbk',' 
is Init .1 v.iii.mt of A'/.;'. 27, wliiih h.is also ni.inv points in eominon with .Vnglo- 
Saxon i>rolileins of widely ditleiing subjects (itj/fii). 

37 > I' .Sh.iion Tninei, /fist,<rv of thf .1 »i;/i>-Sti.\i>n.f 1 \. i li.ip, i\, li.insl.ites from 
a mamiseiipt of the niitth eeiitury [' Hibl. V,.\\t. (.'atuiuieoi uin 1 neensiuin." I , ( \^i\. \, 
Mnvalori, .tntiifiiit^ifi-.i /f,i.'L\i<\ Milan, 1 7.V'. 1I<.>7<^1. ■' ''"^'ip' •>>> ''><' piep.n.ition 
ot p.iiehnient (• ( 'onipositio .id tingeiul.i Musi\.i, pelles et .iti.i ") : ' I'ut it under 



N()'ii:s 



IJ7 



lime .mil l<t it lie (ni llircf days; llicii sirctill it, s( r.i|)c it well on liolli sides, mikI 
dry il, and linn sl.iui il uilli llie lolois ycpii wish,' lli-ic is annllici ic(ii|)l lidni 
the s;itnc hand : 'lake I he icd skill aiul i ai d ull) |iunii> <- il, and UMnpri il in lijiiil 
water and ponr the wali-i cm il lill il inns nil hnipiil. Slniih il al Ici waids and 
sniootll il diligently with i lean wimd. Whi'ii il is <liy l.dvc ihc whih' nl i-y^s .ind 
smear it tiierewith th()r()iij;ldy ; whin il is ilry sponge il with wain, press il, dry 
il again, and pi>lisii it ; then ml) il w il h a (lean skin and pidish il af;ain and gild it.' 
It is inlereslinf; In (oinpaie Willi ihe niiil li i eiil n i y leieipl lot ihe pi e|).iial inn 
of parciimenl the various rei eipis i iied liy \\ aiienliai h, .s; /// ///,v,w7/, i.S/f;, p. 171. 
The successive stages of piepaialion aie indiraled by A li 111 lishop I'anesi ol I'lajoie, 
a contenii)oraiy of {'hark;s I \' (J/a/iii/f,^^): ' p(dlis sepaiala a liove . . . mnndala 
. . . extenia . . . desiiiata . . . deailiala . . . rasa . . . pmiiiiala, eli .' Willi 27.1 '■ 
compare the words ol II ildeliei 1 , .\ u Idiishnp of 'I'oiiis, d. 1 1 jij {(>/>cni, I'aris, 170.S, 
]). 7J3, cited l)y Walleiiliai II l.i .) : ' I'l imo 1 uin rasorio ])urgameinim de pingiiedine 
et sordes magnas aulene; deiiule tuni pnniii e pilos el nervos oninino al)steij;iMi!.' 
27 1-2 Compare wilh these lines Talwine, 5 1 j : 

I'lltenis exiiviis piipiil.ilni me spiiliavil, 
\'ilalis paiilei' liallis spiiaiiiilia ileiiipsll. 

This suggested (onliasi lielween ihe li\'in(^ and dead skins is found not only in 
laisebius, 32 .(, hill also in (oil. Ilein. (ui, No. .•,), / >!■ .lA'w/v <///</, .' ;. 

271 IV'orc l>esn\ |>eile. < f. />'<e,i'. .!i;Ji;, .I//1/. 1 ;.^|, ealdie hesnylSede. 

27^ woi'llldst i-cii^ii hllioill. <'f. 281.1, ina'/^ene liiniiineii. 

27 i-i \^■.^•^^v sl|)|?iiM, I <l,Vf<lr on \vii'<n'. ( f. 13 1.., waiteiN in wielre {Icalhin''). 

276 HiiiiA Heii.veH e<x. ('f. 61 ij, 77'', 93 i'l iH; ('In-. Il,|0, S(;axes ecg. 'i'lie 
seax of tliis and other passages in the /\'i(/i//r.\ is not, as Miss Kellet thinks 
(1S5), tin; iHiulhti'id or 'sword,' or Ihe laigi; .\i iiuiiiisii.\c of war (see Hi-mo. 1 S-jO, 
270.1), liul Ihe iiiltilliis or small knile (WW. 16, 51 '.ivr.\, (idler ' ; /I'.lfrii , (i/oxs., 
*si'.\\ cult(dliis'). l'"oi a desi 1 ipl ion of Ihe weapon of this name, see Akerman, 
Remains of /'iixdn S(IM'ii(/,>iii , p. .'o; llewell, Aihirnl Aiiin'r iiihl il'<',i/u'ii\, iSdo, 
p. 31 ; Kelii;r, p. .| |. '< hi Ihe opposite; side of the limly lioni the shield, and simi 
larly attached to I he pinlle, we usually (ind in I he |o a \ is one 01 even inoie knives. 
'I'liese were perhaps used al table. Siuall(;r knives wcie sonH;times suspended 
al the girdles of Anglo-Saxon ladies ' (Wriglil, C V//, Uciiniii, mid Saxnii, j). /)7.|). 

— Hilldrillll Ix-KI'IIIkIcII. The wolds have been \aiioiisly iiil ei pi el eil. Tlioipe 
translates ' separately ground,' anil (irein in lUilil. 'mil K ieseln j_',es( hlillen ' ; l.itei 
in Spr. 1 1, 452, he defines sindrum as ' S( hkn ken, I lammeis( hlag, Scoiia.' I!. '1'., 
p. S76, renders 'with all impurities ground oil,' and lliongham (f'ook and Tinkei) 
' sharpened w ith iMimii e.' .Sweei, , /. ,S'. h'l-ddrj , < llossaiy s. v., delines as '( iiider' ; 
but in his />i(l. he adds ' dross,' 'impurity ol metal.' As the lemma of .\iiidii in 
the (i/o.ixcs is either 'scoria' (WW. /15, 2.S) or ' raries,' ' put redo li^^noium vel bi li ' 
(WW. 200, 23-24), and as the ( ). W.C,. .uiit,i> and < ». .\ . uiidr hav(; tin; same 
meaning, we must accept the W.'V. lendeiinj; of the pass.ige. 

277 (liiKruH fT'oldiiii. {{.'1'. noti;s, p. 115, thai 'Mailiniiis, .Stiernhielmus, 
Adelung and Wai liter derive /'//, //, /»(■< from hiirrii, " lo lund " 01 " b.ld in plaits," 
referring to the folded leaves of tin; pan limenl, thus dist inguishin;.', these books 



Ij8 KIDDLKS on THE KXKTICK HOOK 

from llieii folds. Al the Council of Toledo \n the eighth century ;i book was de- 
nominated, iomplicaiiuntiim, "that which is folded." In still earlier times even one 
fold of paichment was denominated a book.' — l'u«;l»'s wyii. Thorpe suggested 
I'l'tlc s:c'f//. and I'.i inuiller, ///v'/'V O'" ■ ^'''^ ''>^' ^'•'^- i^^^K-ling is amply supported by 
the context, by the description of the raven-quill in 93 27, .iv /<' <?'' '''''"'<^' /'""■'■ ''Oii/fcs 
gf/ili-fiiui (compare Trautmann's reading of 52 A„fiigla fiiltiivi). and liy the sketches 
of the quill's origin in the Latin enigmas. This is pictured l)y Aklhelin, v, 31, 
'Me pridem genuit candens onocrotalus alli.un,' and is hinted at by Talwine, 62, 
'Nam superas quondam pernix auras penetrabam," and by luisebius, 35.5, ' prius 
.xthera celsa vagabar.' 

27 8 The passage has given much diftkulty. The MS. reading gcoiui spcddro- 
pum, while excellent metrically, does not satisfy the context, which demands a 
verb, unless we accept the reading of H. '1".. p. <)0(>: ' nie throughout tlie bird's 
joy (the pen) with drops made frequent tracks." Hut we cannot accept this, as 
spyrede must be associated with ofcr hruiuie brerd (1. o). So we are forced 
to accept either G rein's ^f('//</[.f/>/v//v<'''"] oi' llolthausen's ^4,V('w</[.f/(fr<:']. 1 prefer 
the former, because it is supported by Life of Cuthlac, 7 (Godwin, 44, 13), se 
awyrgeda gast iSxs ylcan preostes heortan and ge|>anc mid his searwes attre 
geondsprengde. It is metrically possible (see Frucht, p. 39, for examples of 
verse X |_^X |_1 >?^-^). — speddropiim. B.-T. derives the first member of the com- 
pound from sped, 'gum,' and renders 'rheumy drops,' while Grein derives from 
sped, 'success,' and translates the word {Spr. II, 469) 'gutta salutaris.' So Sweet 
in his Reader, Glossary, 'useful drops' — which is doubtless correct. Brougham 
translates • tUient drops.' ^Vith the line compare Tatwine, 5 ^, ' Frugiferos cul- 
tor sulcos mox irrigat undis.' The rendering of sped by Grein and Sweet finds 
interesting support in a later reference to ink in Kid. 88 n, aH l-am sjiore findeS 
sped se I'e se[ceN]. 

27 if ofer biTiiine brord. Sweet, Keadey, Glossary, defines brerd as 'border,' 
'surface,' and Brougham translates 'across my burnished surface.' But Grein, 
B.-T., and Trautmann (/>'/>*. XIX, 197) agree in interpreting this as 'the dark 
brim (of the ink-vessel),' and the last-named unhappily compares 52 7, ofcr 
/died x't'^d (see my note to that line). The Inkhorn describes its back as 7iu»t;i 
(88 22), and refers to its swallowing of ink (93 22-23). Compare the thought of 

93 -"--•^■ 

.•\ miniature of St. Uunstan is found in Koyal MS. 10 A. 13, and cojiied by 
Strutt, /hess ti/id J/iibits I, pi. 50. The Archbishop is engaged in writing, holding 
a jien and parchment scraper, with an inkpot fastened at the corner of the desk. 
In the twelfth miniature of the Benedictional of St. /Kthelwold (Westwood, Kie- 
siMi/es.y^p. 132 f.) an inkhorn, small and black, is fixed at the top of the arm of the 
chair; and in the Trinity College (Cambridge) Gospels, No. B. 10,4 (Westwood, 
p. 141),. the inkpot is also in this position. In the Gospels of Bishop .Ethelstan 
in the library of Pembroke College, Cambridge (Westwood. p. 143), St. Matthew 
dips a feather pen into a golden inkpot, holding a scraper in his left hand; 
St. Mark is busy mending his pen, which he holds up to the light and cuts with 
a large knife; St. T.uke has a pen behind his ear and a knife in his right hand; 
St. John writes with a golden pen. 



NOTKS 



129 



27 <)''-io'' beaiiit «*!<;<' s^v<'alJi;, etc. Wattenl)acli, S( /nifhcii-sfii, p. 197, cites 
several mediaeval receipts for the making of ink, iiut;ibly th.il of Tlieophilus 
in Dn'trstiriim Artium Scheditla i, 45, ' De Incausto ' (edition of Ilg, Qitellcii- 
schrifteii fiir Kunstgeschichte, vol. vii): ' Man nehme Rinde von Dornenholz, lege 
sie in Wasser, urn den Farbstoff auszuziehen, Irockne die Masse, und wenn man 
die Dinte brauchen will, niache man sie niit Wein und etwas atramentum iiber 
Kohlen an.' So we are told by the Inkhorn, Kid. 93 22-23, Nu ic blace swelge 
wuda ond wa:tre. Anglo-Saxon ink was evidently made like that of the conti- 
nent. Ink and parchment are mentioned in Edgar's Canons, § 3 (Thorpe, .-/./,. II, 
244, 11): ' Da't hi habban bla;c (atramentum) and bdcfel.' 

27 11'^ sijjiuir KwciirtlSst. Cf. 52 2-3, swearte wjeran lastas, swa|>u swl^e blacu. 
For many Latin analogues, see my note to that passage. 

27 ii''-i.( The Anglo-Saxon entry at the end of the Durham Book is thus trans- 
lated by Waring (Prolegomena to Lhu/is/ame und Rusliworth Gospels, part iv, 
p. xliv): ' Eadfrith, Bishop over the church of Lindisfarne, first wrote this book 
. . . and /I'Uhelwald, Bishop of Lindisfarne, made an outer cover and adorned it, 
as he was well able; and Bilfrith the Anchorite, he wrought tiie metal work of 
the ornaments on the outside thereof and decked it with gold and gems, overlaid 
also with silver and unalloyed metal,' etc. Westwood notes in his Appendix to 
Facsimiles, etc., (p. 149) that 'the magnificent book-covers " auro argento gem- 
misque ornata " which are repeatedly mentioned in connection with the fine early 
copies of the Gospels — such for instance as the Gospels of Lindisfarne — have for 
the most part long disappeared.' Godwin, English Aix/iaeologist^s I/andhook, 1867, 
p. 87, notes that ' Some of the bindings of these precious volumes display admi- 
rable metal-work, the Latin gospels of the ninth century being covered with silver 
plates, and a copy of the Vulgate version of the tenth century being ornamented 
with copper-gilt plates and having the figure of Christ in the center, the borders 
studded with large crystals and enameled corners.' Various media;val bindings 
are considered by Wattenbach, Scliriftwesen, pp. 324 f. 

27 11-12 Book-covers of board and hide are thus introduced by Aldhelm, v, 9 2-3 : 

Seel pars exterior crescebat caetera silvis : 
Calceameiita iiiilii tradeljaiit tcrgora dura. 

27 13 glcredo iricc mid soUle. See the sketch of the Bible, 68 17-18, golde 
gegierwed . . . since ond seolfre. Cf. also 152, 21 <r'o- 

27 14 woorc 8iiii]7a. Cf. 6 «, 21 7, hondweorc smil'a. 

27 15 f. The history of illumination and book decoration in England between 
700 and 1066 has been discussed by Westwood in his great work. Facsimiles of 
Miniatures and Ornaments. In an interesting article upon ' English Illuminated 
Manuscripts,' Fihliographia I (1895), I29f., Sir E. Maunde Thomson shows that 
'we find two distinct styles — the one having its origin in the North, the other 
developing in the South. In the North we have the style introduced from Ireland 
— a style which may l)e termed almost purely decorative, in which figure-drawing 
is of so primitive and barbarous a nature that it counts for nothing from the point 
of view of art, but in which the marvelous interlaced designs and ribbon and spiral 
patterns combine to produce decorations of the highest merit such as have no 



I ^o 



Ki 1)1)1. 1'.s or iiii'; iixi: ii:k wook 



I'n.il in iMlu-r srliools of illiiiiiiiKition. ( )i> llic otiii-i h.iml, in the South \vf have 
tiiMiic ili.iwiiig l.iij;t'lv .mil in ni> sni.iil ilc^^ici- sui i i'ssfiill\ i iilliv .ilcd, .mil .il llic 
s.imf tmn' till' ilii iM.ili\ r side lit .111 is not nt'_i;li-('ti'il.' In our A'/i/i/VV it is t'\i- 
(.KmiIIv .1 noilluin l>o.ik lli.il is sixMkini;. 

27 IS K*'"'''"'*- ("'T'lti', X''' ''"'"> '^ tounil I it'(|ut'nl Iv in llu- poctiy in the scnso of 
' luysti'iy,' .uul tli.it nifanliig i,s assigiu'il to ihc |iicsciil p.iss.ii;!- Ii\ tlicin in /*/,///.; 
but in .S//. I, ||i. In- iloii\t's oiii woiil liom ^v//-//, ' ornan\fnl,' citing />'i >(■/// ///.f 
I I 1, I't'ah I'.i I'.iicnn t.r^iti sicn. This icndorint;, whiih is .suppoiteil hv the I'oin- 
nion oiiuiH'iiii' o( the \ 1). j,(V /•;//(;// '.uloin' (sec />'(-.i,-,'. 777, .)/<;/./. itn, t'ti .), is 
aiioptitl 1>\ I! r. .uul .Swfi'l, .iiul is cx.utlv siiitt'il to our context. so mitlii 
lolf^. C".!.!;!' illiist i.itrs ihi' use ot inl .uul j;oKl in A ni^lo .S.i\on in.inusi 1 ipis by 
his ilfsciiplion ol the • lu-nciliition.il ol AllulwoKl,' . I >,/t,ii;'/\'xi.i XX1\', .• ; : 
'Tlu' capit.il inili.ils, souu- ot whiili .iir \ti\ l.ii!;('. .lie uniformly in l;oK1, .uul 
the l>Ci;innin!;s .uul ciulin^s ol some lu'iu'ilii lions tc>i;flluM with the titles .ue in 
goKl 01 leil lelteis. Allein.lle lines in j',olil, led 01 M.u k oi>ui oiii e 01 twice 
in the s.iine p.iiu'. All ihe clii vsoi;i.iphic p. ills ot the lu'iu'ilictional, as well 
ill the inini.itiiies .is in the cli.ii .utei s ol the text, .lie eveculeil with le.il golil 
l.iid upon si.c. .ittei w.iiils l>iiiiiished.' lioKl powdei w.is used .is olleii .is ,!;old 
le.if (see the Miii.itoii ieici|>ls cited niidei 5^ ■) . I'oi the eniplovinent of led 
loUus in iiiiHli.ev.il ni.uiiisci ipis, innip.iie \\ .itti'nl>.uh, Si/'/ri/htYSi'n, pp. -'O ^- 
200. jSS f. 

27 !'■ AViildorj'esteaM. tliein lendeis the woul, /';, '.7., "die \\\ihnuni;en dei 
Ciloiie'; ,sr>v 11, -.iS, • ni.insiones celeslae.' This is hardly .ipt lieie. Its piesent 
nicininj; is th.il of /• ic,/. i;>^7 S^^*^- H^^'i' 'I'l^l goihvob, Josi'phes gestieon | wei.i 
wiildoigesle. dd. K. T. lenders rightly 'gK)rious possessions,' and Haiiuniw (p. : \ .\) 
'ilei heilige uiul stut.'eiule inh.ilt lies hiiches' (see 48 .ts)' " ""*'•***• ^^^' '''*' -''li- 
'f.inions' (I'll., I'tlin,, /';. ■'.;■) hut ; pi. opt, of Wic;.;//, 'to ill, ike known' (■*>>'. 11. 
JJ ;). Swfet .iccepis this inlei piet.itiiui .uul re. ids /</,c'V'/, 

2717 ^l^»l^^^((>. The woul h.is i;uMtei foice th.iu ' l"ie\ elsti.ife ' {Pi,':!.) or 
' punishnieni loi ,iiid.u ily ' ( 1!, 1".). /'.•.' is used in the sense of ////(/////.v (/V. iiSi.'ii), 
.md .■.'.■. ollen implies 'etein.il punishment.' Thus ,;'|iAi''/7<" is iipiiositc to ifrv/it- 
/,:'i,i h<'!iH (tlodV The whole ii.iss.is;e m.iy In- lendeied: "Now in.i\ the .uloin- 
ments and Ihe led il\e .ind the gloiious possessions widely 111. ike known llod (in 
he.iyeiO .uul not the p.iins ol hell'' 

jy iSl. W ilh this p.iss.ii;e it is inteiestiiii; to cinup.ue the note ne.u the end 
of Ihe t;ospel of Si. lohn (liMf lOo) in the Kushwoith MS. (Ske.it, p. iSS): 
' h.»-fe nu lioc .iwiitne ; liiiic.i nii.N will.i synile, mi\N so^'um gile.if.i; sibh is ighw.vin 
leofost.' 

The noMe usefulness of the L;>>od liooU .ilso the theme of the fi.igiiuMit.iiy 
A'/,/. 68 I 1 f. is the text of I'.ilw inc. ^ !■, ' s.inis \ ictum el l.iesis piest.iho mcilel.ini.' 
Kill the liiendK ,iid .uul lofty guid.mce iMought l>v the Hook to nu-n .lie the themes 
ot in.m\ lidillcs. In .Mdhelm, y, ; • S, the pen tie. ids .» p.ith ' ipi.ie non eii.inles .id 
caeli culniiii.t yexit '; .md its w.»y is 'the w.tv of life' in Hede's /•7,<nw, No. 1 :, anil in 
the /.'..•^.V,-'/.; (l"an»l)ridge MS. C'.g. V. ',5^, No. 10 (my aiticlo, .1/.'./. P^itV. 11, 3(\0- 
The Hook is a jovful health giyer (/.(/. .'.| 1 . ', .'ij) .uul h.is .m immoit.il soul (.'.(/. 7 1 1). 
In A'/./. 50 (>-S, boviks aio ilescriht'd : 



NOTl'.S 131 

Kiilili' tlyiiiin, 
I'.l .ilH'liii^;.is (lit wiliiiuX, 
I \ iiinn.is (111(1 ( \MMii'. 

Ill 68 i.t till- S;i( ifil liodk is //•,'(/./ /(//AW, hi iiigiiig to iiicii cIciiimI liio. 
Hill. 2J7 f. luiiii.slu's ill its pi.iisi- (if IxioUs ;i vciy sliikiiij^', ii.ii.illfl : 

Itec syiuloii brCiiii', lioiliuiS jji'iumIiIic 

wi'otocliie vvilhui N.lni >V wilit liygcIS. 

(K'StraiiKiicN liiu ;inil (;('st;i(Ni'li;i'(N stii'iNolfiustiu' ni-iVilit^ 

.liiiViKiitV iiiodsi'fiin niamiii goliwylcus 

(it I'liMiiudl.iii 'Mssc's llfes. 



Hiilil bi(N se iV oiibyrogcIS l)6ca cr;i'ftc's : 
symlc l)i'(N 'iNo wtsrii "iNe liira gcwL-ald liafa'iN. 

Sine liic (liiM'iid.iiN s('i(M:i'stra >;cli\v.1ni, 
li.flo hv(Ni', l-im |.c liio liifa(\ 

Wii^lit {Relitjuiaf A)iti(/ii(i<- II, 1(^5) cites incorrectly llie clumsy lines in the 
lieiiediitional of the tenth century fornu-ily heloii^^ing to St. Augustine's at 
C.mteilMiiy (MS. Colt. Claiiilius .\. Ill, f. 29 v.): 

Ic cdni li.'\lgimn-li('i( ; hcildc liiiic Diyhtcn, 

In- nic fa'f^i'ie I'lis ti.ilcu iiiu liilcjjdc ; 

J'^uie'iN (?) to |>aiuc |iiis 1h"'I me wyicean 

t5 love oiul tS wiiiiNc |i.lni I'e leoht gt-'ScSop; 

geniyndi is lie milila geiiwykre 

)>x's lie he on lnld.in Ki^'fieniian niaig, etc. 

.AnotluT gootl hook, /I'.lfied's tiansl.il ion of the ('iird I'dstotutlis of (Jregory, 
speaks in the tiist person after the close of tlie famous I'leface (Sweet's ed. 
K. K. T. Soc, X1,V, 8): 'SiXSan min on Knglisc /I'.lfred kyning avveiule woida 
gehwelc ond me his writerum sende sfuN ond noKN.' 

27 1.) f. Kluge notes (/'//A'. TX, .1,^6): ' A'/V. 27 entlialt ncmi auf finandci lol 
gende kurzzeilen die durch siiHi.\ieiiii in eiiier weise veihuiulen siiul, d.iss dci 
.selhe sich jedem sofort aufdiiiiigt.' 

27 Ji lV'r|j«' py frrxlraii. ('{.Jul. 553, on fciISe fiod; /•'..mhI. 555, fiod on 
ferh(Se; ll'iiiii/. 90, frod in feiiSe ; A'/. .|()j, fr("id on fyrhiNe; A7. 116^), fiddiie on 
feiluNe. 

27 J2 Hwa-srii oikI k*'^"*'*'*'*- ^ f- 16 jj, swiCse ond gesihl)e ; (,'i/i. i6ij, ficon- 
dum swal'sum ond gesihhum. 

2727 to ny(t<'. So in 50 <»-'<'. hooks serve /<'> iiy/Ze . . . oiui to (fni;i>i<ni. 

27<i« K;H'rc. The word .^v/'/r, 'useful,' apjiears only here and in 50:1, where, it 
is interesting to note, we lind it used of hooks, i^i/riim Idciim. Cifre has occa- 
sioned much discussion. Miiller renders MS. v'///'" ' utilis,' and Thorpe 'rapa- 
cious.' Kltmiiller says : \i^ifn:, " rapa.x" noii hene (diivciiil ( imi ///.?//•, "(iai iis " ct 
/idlif^, ".sanctus"'; and he suggests ,/,'//')(i';i,'v, in whii li he is followed hy Kicger 
and Sweet. Grein compares A'ii/. 50 3 and iini^i/rf ((/<■//. 2.170), and translates 
'heilsam' (Diiht.) and 'saliitaris' (A//-. I, 506); I5.-T. renders 'useful.' 



132 



KIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



RIDDLE 28 



Dietrich (XI, 467-46S) suggested 'Whip'; but afterwards offered (XII, 239) 
Professor Lange's solution, ' Mead,' which has l)een accepted by all later scholars. 
It is certainly a companion-piece to Rid. 12, which pictures the follies of the night- 
revels, and to Rid. 29, which paints the glories of strong drink. Except in simi- 
larity of subject, it seems to have little in common with Aldhelm, ii, 3, De Ape\ 
but like vi, 9, De Calice I'itreo, it records the overthrow of topers. In its treat- 
ment of this motive it resembles very closely the first riddle of the Jlei&reks Gdlirr, 
in which ' Beer ' is a lamer of men, and at once a hinderer and provoker of words. 
Other close analogues are Bern MS. 61 1, No. 50 {Ant/i. Lat. I, 366), De Vino, the 
Wine enigma of Hadrian Junius (Reusner I, 241), and the long riddle of Lorichius 
(Reusner I, 282) on ' Dolium Vini.' Very like, indeed, is the modern English prob- 
lem, 'A Barrel of Beer' {Amitsiiii^ Riddle Book\ 1830, p. 28): 

My habitation 's in a wood, 
And I 'm at any one's command. 
I often do more harm than good: 
If once I get the upper hand, 
I never fear a champion's frown ; 
Stout things I often times have done ; 
Brave soldiers I can fell them down, 
I never fear their sword nor gun. 

After pointing to the existence of bee-culture among all the Aryan peoples, 
Weinhold adds, Allnordisches I.ehen, 1856, p. 89: ' Honig war fiir das Alterthum 
wichtiger als fiir uns, denn er gibt den Haupttheil zum Met, dem uralten Lieblings- 
getrank arischer Viilker. Met ist darum auch das Getriink der Gotter; aus Honig 
und Blut mischten ferner die Zwerge den Trank, welcher die Gabe der Dicht- 
kunst verleiht ' (compare Wackernagel, Ilaupts Zs. VI, 261). Ilehn, A'p. n. Ht., 
1902, pp. 152-154, traces the history of mead. 'In the linden forests of the east 
of Europe, among the nomads and half-nomads of the Volga region quite at the 
back of the Slavs, the intoxicating drink made of honey played a greater part 
than beer, and was certainly much older. It may be presumed that mead was a 
primitive drink of the Indo-Europeans when they migrated into Euro])e, and that 
it only, like so many other things, lasted longer in the east of the continent. . . . 
The Taulantians, an Illyrian peo]ile, made wine from honey. Says .Aristotle, de 
Mirab. mtsciilt. 22 (21): " When the honey is squeezed out of the combs (besides 
other processes), an agreeable strong drink like wine is produced." . . . Mead is 
further distinguished as a Scythian beverage, made from the honey of wild bees, 
etc' For the Anglo-Saxon use of both mead and beer, see my discussion of the 
next riddle. 

28 .: briingcii of bcarivMiii. ('{. 22 7, brungen of bearwe. In the Horn riddle, 
806, the mead is again mentioned, /<?/ on bearwe geweo.x. — burghle«)]>iiiii. The 
reading of Th., Ettm., beorghleol>iim, is tempting because ' mountain heights ' seems 
well suited to the sense of the passage, and is moreover supported by 58 2, beo7-g- 
hleoJ>a. But there is no real reason for abandoning the MS. word, which is found 
Gen. 2159, Exod. 70, and which is rendered by Brooke 'city-heights.' 



NOTES 133 

28 3-5 This reminds us of the worl< of the wings in the Swan riddle (8 3). 

283-4 Weinhoid, Altnoniisches Leben, 1856, pp. S8-90, discusses bee-culture 
among the North Germans. Cortelyou, Die a/ten^s;lischen Ahitnen der hisekten, 
1906, pp. 25 f., notes the frequent appearance of the bee in Anglo-Saxon writings. 
Asser, Life of ^Elfred^ chap. 76, employs the phrase ' velut apis prudentissima,' 
which furnishes his editor, Stevenson (Oxford, 1904, p. 302), the opportunity to con- 
sider the use of the metaphor in Aldhelm i^De Latidibiis Virginitatis, cap. iv), Alcuin 
(V'lta S. IViHi/'rordi, cap. 4), Regularis Concordia Monachorum (Carttilarium 
Saxonicum III, 423, 2), and in many other writers of the eighth to tenth centuries. 
Aldhelm tells us in his enigma De Ape (ii, 32):' Dulcia florigeris onero prascordia 
praedis,' and again in the De Pugillnribus (v, 91):' Melligeris apibus mea prima 
processit origo.' Of the connection between the bees and mead, the Celtic bard 
speaks in his famous ' Mead Song ' {Afyryrian Archaeology of Wales, 1801, I, 22): 

From the mead horns — the foaming, pure and shining liquor, 
Which the bees provide, but do not enjoy ; 
Mead distilled I praise. 

'Apparently of first importance was the keeper of the bees, "apium custos," 
" apiarius," "melitarius" [WW. 256,8; 352, 13; beo-ceorl'\, for the maintenance 
of bees was of sufficient importance to call for the employment of a man for that 
special work. . . . [Ilis rights and duties are stated at length, R. S. /"., § 5, Schmid, 
p. 376.] In the Gerefa {Aiiglin IX, 263) we find mention of the accompaniments of 
this industry, bee-hives and honey-bins. Bee-culture reached, to all appearances, a 
high state of cultivation among the Anglo-Saxons and was held in peculiar regard 
by the people as the chief element in a favorite drink. Returns of bee-hives are 
frequent in Domesday,' etc. (Andrews, Old English Manor, p. 206). 

In j^ilfred's Laws, § 9, 2 (Schmid, p. 76), the bee-thief is punished as severely 
as he who steals gold or horses. 

286-17 The Mead's chant of triumph over those who contend against its force 
recalls Rid. 12 3 f. The genre sketch of the downfall of the old churl may or 
may not have been suggested by Aldhelm, vi, 9 y, ' Atque pedum gressus titu- 
bantes sterno ruina'; but this motive appears in genuine folk-riddles {supra) 
remote from learned sources. The grimly humorous picture of the evils of de- 
bauch should be contrasted with the praise of the joys of wine in the next riddle 
(297-12). The mead-hall is mentioned elsewhere in the Riddles (1511,16, 21 u, 
56 ., 57 12. 643). 

.Sharon Turner, History of the Anglo-Saxons, Bk. VH, chap, iv, translates an 
Anglo-Saxon canon against drunkenness : ' This is drunkenness, when the state 
of the mind is changed, the tongue stammers, the eyes are disturbed, the head is 
giddy, the belly is swelled and the pain follows ' (Theodore, Liber Pa-nitentialis, 
xxvi, 14, Thorpe, A. L., p. 292). Gummere, Germanic Origins, pp. 74-75, notes that 
all these Anglo-Saxon laws (Schmid, p. 12, §§ 12, 13, 14, pp. 24, 212) 'testify to 
the Germanic habit of drinking, quarreling, and fighting, with quarreling proper 
as a vanishing element in the situation.' W'ith our riddle it is interesting to com- 
pare such pictures of potent potting as the description of the feast of Holofernes 
(fndith, 15 f.) and the lot of the drunkard in the Fates of Men, 48 f. : 



134 Ki 1)1)1. 1'.s oi" III I'. i:.\i';ii,K r.ooK 

|>(>iuu' lu' m'liu't nc cow 
gi'mcirii.iii his mu.\', nioilo sino. 

(Sco litcioke's tinnslntioii, /■'. /'. / //., p. i 5 ',). Tlu- poi-t o( ////iii/ni, .|S ^ f., makes the 
ilfvil s.iy that tiiie ol his ways ol woikiiis; e\ii is liy leailiiig men iliunk wilh lnei 
into the renewal of olil grudges and to siu li I'uniitv that in the wine hall they 
jieiish by 'li^' swoiilstroke. l'"oi' anotlu'i nirtnie of (.Inmkenness in the A'/i/i/Am-, 
see 12 s f. I'.heil, .U/xein<'i'if (.nsi/i. tit-r Lit.t/is Mitti-lallcn 1, 01 ;, 111, j, remarks 
that the jioets sometimes seem to hold vip the drunken ehaia* ii'is of the Old 'l"es- 
tan\(nt as wainini; examples to their Anglo-Saxi)n audience; eom]xire (Av/. I 562 f., 
j.|oS, -'S/o. -•<>', I • -(>|o (I'errell, Tt-iitoiiic Antiqiiilies in tin- Aii^^lo-Sa.w^n (,'c'»i:f/s, 
iSi)',, 1>1>. .(- I ',)■ See l'"uchse, >S"/V/fV/ /v/'w /''s-st^/i utiti '/'ritikt-ii, iSi)i, j)p. 7-S ; and 
notiif the many warnings against tlninkenness in the //ii:\niiii/. 

iS ■ s \ve»»r|)«> I I'siie. This ennnil.ii ion of 1 lollhauscn, /•.'//;■/• Sdi,/. XXW'li, 
207, for MS. ;i'(-('r/'t-/t- <■///(■ tinds ihiccfoKl jusl ilu .it ion in ihe meter of 7 !>, in the 
ilhsenee o( r//ii' elsewhere in the vlesiied sense ol • 1 KmI,' • 1 ihiow,' .md linally 
in its peifeit .ul.ipl.ition to the (dnleNt (if. 10 1), e.sn,\s hiiule). 

28 <) In not .1 li-\v tif the liddles a meeting wilh ihe suhji'it leails to sorrow — 
compaie 7 s, 16 .'5, 18 u>, 24 I.' f., 26 >) u> (l)ietrieh Xll, .'15). 

28 i>. i'or MS. m.ixrnhi.uui, llolthausen. /'//,;.'. Sf;i,i. WWII. J07, reads 
*-/>i.<tsti>i — /tvs.utn (noni. />r.v.ir -^ /./M7,"i) ' ; and ailds : 'l>.is woit gehoit /n /yvs.wi, 
"toser" in /'liiu-, runt'-, ;iurti'r-J>vs.\;i, "schilf."' Cirein, .V/>. II, jjo, suggests that 
//.v is identical with /nwY? ((">. N. /.r.v.v, /,, i.c;) ; anil then lonjeituies very doubt- 
fully ///<<■{,'<•// ri'/V""/, ' meiner kriifligen Weise." Ihii iheie is no reason to depart from 
the MS., as the form briiit-JusiUi is found thue limes (.///</. if>57, i6i)i), l-'.l. J iS). 

28 li (."f. 12 i», gif hi unriudes Sr ne gesw uah; ./"/• i -O, l-'.l. 5i(> (ller/feld. p. U)). 

a8 i,( stnMifto bisloleii. C'f. 12 (<'", mode bestolene ; (»V//. i 570, ferhiNe forstolen 
(iininlrn .\\><i/i). — 8<r«>ii«j on spi-aM-e. This reading of MS. and earlier etlitors 
is sustaineil by 93 i.-, .^tii'in; t'n stu/^t-, ,ind by such ilescriplions of drunkenness 
•IS those liled .d)ove (see /ui/t'.f, .18-57). I'ompare also 29 m \:. iKiu.ui onginneiN, 
nu'ld.m mishie. H.ii nouw says (p. :2i): • .V// c'//;' ,>// .f/'r,7.<- gibt viel besseren sinn ; 
ilei bet I unkene h.d seine ki.ift \ erloren ; ist nui noeh in worten sl.uk. ' 

28 i( niief;(Mie biiiiiiueii. I'f. 27 •. w 01 uldslrenga binom. 

28 IS folii no tolnia. C'f. 32 ,-, fel oi\il folnie ; 4010, fot ne fohn ; 680, fet ne 
f[olme|. 

28 17 be <lie;;es le«>IUe. Uudde. /'.v AV./<-///////v .'V'- I'link.iitteii, p. J.|, belieyes 
that this phrase refers to the lesulis of ihe iwening pot.itions the morning after, 
and cites in sujiport of this yiew the ' I'roNerbs of .V.lfred,' .\v (Kemble, Sitloinoii 
tinJ Siitiini, p.NJ_54); 

His mm go silep 
S.\l liiMi imuhil K'stiii ; 
Wi'isr I'c swo on eviMi 
\ U-K' li.nu'il Mlr.inUrn. 

The thought is p.\r.dlel to th.it in the liddle's m.ite, 120. 'So sind wir wohl 
beiechtigt einen I'.inlluss ilei \ olksmassigen Ti ink.insi h.uiiingen .luf d.is K.itsel 
an/unehmen ' (Kudde). 



NOTES 135 

RIDDLE 29 

Wright {f>iog. Brit. Lit. I, 79) early suggested 'John Barleycorn,' and pointed 
to the parallels in Hurns's famous poem, which, it may be noted, is a product of 
folk-poetry, as the seventeenth-century black-letter ballad 'The Bloody Murther 
of Sir John Barleycorne ' (Ashton, Cliap-Books of the Eighteenth Century, pp. 316- 
318) shows. This solution was accepted by Klipstein, and ably defended by 
Brooke (^E. E. Lit., p. 152). On account of the early lines (1-3), Dietrich (XI, 468) 
proposes ' Weinfass,' which is certainly better than Trautmann's ' Ilarfe.' Wright's 
answer, which we may modify to Beer or Ale, seems to me distinctly the best, as 
the riming lines describe the threshing of the barley. 

To sustain his solution Dietrich ])oints to Aldhelm, vii, 2, J)e Cuppa Vinaria, 
as a possible source (jnfni). 1 shall note other analogues in my comments upon 
single lines. 

Prehn has indicated (p. 197) the very slight likeness Ijetween the fate of the 
subject of this riddle and that of the Battering Ram {Rid. 54) and of the Lance 
(AV</. 73). But Rid. 29 is most closely connected with Rid. 28, ' Mead,' in its de- 
tailed description of the origin of the drink — here barley instead of honey — 
and of its effects upon man, here good and joyous rather than bad. As Brooke 
says, E. L-l. LJt., p. 152, 'the delight and inspiration which the writer places in 
"jolly good ale and old" only makes his reproof of excess seem the stronger.' 
We find the same mingling of approval and rebuke of mead in the /Ldr'a/iidi. 

Ilehn, A'p. u. Jit., 1902, pp. 149-159, declares : ' Cx'sar does not speak of beer as 
a German drink, but a century and a half later Tacitus does {Germania, 23, " I'otui 
humor e.x hordeo aut frumento in quandam similitudinem vini corruptus") ; though 
Pliny, when he mentions beer, is silent as to the Germans. These when pressing 
forward to the lower Rhine and the sources of the Danube must have soon adopted 
the use of beer from the Celts. ... It is foolish to regard beerand beer-drinking as 
originally German and inseparable from the essence and idea of Germanism ; if 
the use and brewing of beer had been the ruling characteristic custom of the Ger- 
mans the ancients would not have been so chary of mentioning it.' Ilehn further 
points out that 'the nearest neighbors of the Germans, the Prussians, drank only 
mead and fermented mare's milk and were ignorant of beer, which allows us to 
make certain inferences as to the Germans in the earlier stages of their civiliza- 
tion.' Later, in discussing hops (p. 473), Hehn shows that the ancients had never 
heard of such a plant ; that accounts of the early Middle Ages, which often men- 
tion beer, never say a word about hops ; and that in many European countries like 
England and Sweden the use of hops for making beer is first heard of towards 
the end of the Middle Ages or even in the course of the sixteenth century, and 
then gradually becomes more common. For the introduction of hops into the 
Norwegian countries during the Middle Ages, see Hoops, Wb. u. A'p., pp. 649-650. 
See also Gummere, Germanic Origins, pp. 71-74. 

Hoops declares ( IVI>. u. A'p., p. 380) that barley has one advantage over wheat : 
that it has always been an indispen.sable ingredient for beer. He points out the 
fondness of Northern England for barley (p. 591) : ' Moglicherweise nahm im 
Suden des Landes schon in angelsachsischer Zeit der Weizenbau die vornehmste 



136 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

Stelle eiii ; im Noiclen scheint aber die Gerste als das ertragssichere Korn, wie 
friiher aiif dem Festland, die erste Rolle gespielt zii haben. Es ist bezeichnend 
dass die Dieschteniie im Northumbrischen und Mercischen herejior heisst (vgl. 
Lindisfarne und Rushworth, Matth. iii, 12, Luke iii, 17, wo cs lat a?-ea iibersetzt), 
waiirend im Sachsischen dafUr J>yrsceljidr oder auch hernesjicir gilt.' It is this 
threshing of barley that our riddle describes. 

A grant of King Offa (Birch, Cartulariiiin Saxonicutn, 1885, L jSo) mentions 
'twa tunnan fulle hlutres alo'5 ond cumb fulne lil>es alo6' ond cumb fulne welisces 
alo'S.' From this Sharon Turner, VH, chap, iv, infers that three kinds of ale 
were known to the Anglo-Sa.xons : (i) clear ale; (2) Welsh ale; (3) mild ale. 
According to Weinhold {^Altnordisches Lebeii, 1856, p. 153, note), '■01 [ags. ealii\ 
und biSr [ags. hcor'\ sind gleichbedeutend ; iii ist alter, und den Nordgermanen 
mit den Lithauem gemein ; bior ist erst durch Zusammenziehung aus dem lat. 
infin. bibere entstanden (Grimm, Worterbiich, s. v.). Als jiingeres und fremdes 
Wort gait es fiir vornehmer und deshalb sagt das junge Ah'/ssindl {;^^), fi/ heisst 
der Trank unter den Menschen, bior unter den Gottern.' In this identification of 
ale and beer, and in the derivation of the name, Weinhold is at one with Wacker- 
nagel, who in a scholarly article (' Mete, Bier, Win, Lit, Lutertranc,' Ilajipts Zs. 
VL 261) traces the history of Germanic liquors from the early time when beer 
and mead were the only drinks of the northern nations. Compare Weinhold, 
Deutsche Fiiuieii, 1882, H, 62; Sass, Dentsches Leben zur Zeit der Sachsischen 
Kaiser, Berlin, 1892, p. 24; French, A'ineteen Centuries of Drink in En!;;hind, 
London, 1SS4, p. 14. Leo, /\. S. /'., 1842, p. 200, believes that ealii and beor were 
different, because he meets the words ah>& and beor side by side as separate 
grants in a charter (Kemble H, iii), and suggests that there was doubtless the 
same distinction that we find in modern England between ale and beer, the first 
being with hops; but Leo naturally fails to find any trace of 'hopfenbau' among 
Anglo-Saxons. 

When the boy in /Llfric's Colloquy (WW. 102) is asked what he drinks, he 
answers: 'Ale if I have it, or water if I have not.' And he adds: 'I am not so 
rich that I can buy me wine, and wine is not the drink of children or the weak- 
minded, but of the elders and the wise.' As Newman points out (Traill's Social 
Eiii^land I, 226), 'Wine though made, was little drunk; wine-presses are shown 
in the illuminations [Cotton Claudius B. IV, f. 17], but the climate must have 
restricted the growth of the grape to the southern portion of the island. At 
all events, mead and ale were the ]H)pular beverages.' Dicr hy mcodu drinca&, 
says AV(/. 21 12. The brewery, brcauucrn or iiiealthils (' Brationarium'), was an 
important adjunct of every Anglo-Sa.xon menage (Heyne, Die TIalle I/eorot, 
P-26). 

29 I The opening line is an integral part of the riddle (with 29 i, fu-gre gegier- 
7i'ed, cf. 21 2), not as in Nid. 32 and 33 a mere excrescence. This beginning bears 
a far-away likeness to that of 71. Dietrich (XI, 46S) finds a suggestion of these 
lines in Aldhelm's enigma of the Wine-Cup, vii, 2 S-io: 

Proles sum terrae gliscens in saltibus altis. 
Materiam cimeis findit sed cultor agre.stis, 
Pinos evertens altas et robora ferro. 



NOTES 137 

29 2-3 Compare with these superlatives, heardesiau, scearpestan, grymmestan, 
the lines of the Barleycorn ballad : 

The sultry suns of Summer came, 
And he grew thick and strong ; 
His head weel arm'd \vi' pointed spears. 
That no one should him wrong. 

29 2 Grein suggested \_heorti\scearpestan for the sake of alliteration, which is 
otherwise absent from the line; but Kluge has shown {PBB. IX, 446) that this 
lack of alliteration is compensated for by suffix-rimes, as later in Middle English. 
With our line he compares Maid. 271, a/re ernbe stiinde he sealde sume tvunde; 
the inscription upon the shield of Eadwen (Hickes's Thesaunts), drihten /tine 
d'cverte J>e me /tine cetferie; and the passage upon William in the Laud MS. of the 
Chronicle (Earle, p. 222). 

29 4-7 So in the Barleycorn ballad, which I may not quote at length, the barley 
is ' cut by the knee,' ' tied fast,' ' cudgeled full sore,' ' hung up,' ' turned o'er and 
o'er,' ' heaved in a pit of water,' ' tossed to and fro,' ' w-asted o'er a scorching flame,' 
' crushed between two stones,' and finally, almost in the words of the Anglo-Saxon, 

They hae ta'en his very heart's blood, 
And drank it round and round; 
And still the more and more they drank 
Their joy did more abound. 

The ' Barleycorn' undergoes the same sad experiences as the ' Pipping jjounded 
into Cyder' of the Whetstone for Dull Wits, p. i (Ashton, Chap-Books, p. 296): 

Into this world I came hanging; 

And, when from the same I was ganging, 

I was cruelly battered and squeezed, 

And men with my blood they were pleased. 

29 4-8 The rimes, which give Rid. 29 an interesting place in our group (see 
Kluge, I.e.; Lefavre, Aiiglia VI, 237), have their parallel elsewhere in riddle 
poetry. Very similar is their use in the Mecklenburg ' Flax' problem (Wossidlo, 
77): ' Dann ward ich geruckelt und gezuckelt und ge.schlagen ; dann brachen sie 
mir die knochen ; se hoogten mi, se toiigten mi; se bogen mi, se schowen mi; 
. . . se riippeln mi, se kniippeln mi; se ruffeln mi, se knuffeln mi; se ruppten mi, 
se schuppten mi; se ruckten mi, se tuckten mi; se zucken un tucken mi.' 

29 7-10 Dietrich notes the general likeness of the passage to Aldhelm's hne 
(vii, 2 i), 'En plures debrians impendo pocula Bacchi.' Line 9 recalls the 'old 
churl,' 28 S. The dream due to beer is similarly described. Fates, 77 f. : 

Sum sceal on heape ha^leSum cweman, 
blissian jet beore bencsittendum ; 
})Sr biS drincendra dream se micla. 



Cf. Beo'M. 495 : 



pegn nytte beheold 
se J* on handa ba;r hroden ealowSge, 
scencte sclr wered 



l)X'r wa;s hileSa dream. 



138 Kll)l)l.i;S OF llll': KXKTKR lU)OK 

29 s «'Umi<>;c'«V. Tlie word h.is l)i'en vaiimisly interproUHl. Tlioipe's conjecture 
,^'Av/^'V^ ( A'//// (■-.f (>;/;■■, 3, 12; yV/. ()o()) is barred by the demands of alliteration. It 
is e(|iially impossible to regard </c-//xr& as subst. ace. {Dicht., 'den Jubel ' ; Brooke, 
p. 153, 'jollity'). The form is the 3d pers. sg. ind. of (7tv/j,>v7//, doubtfully defined 
by (ircin (.S/r. I, 163) as ' ornare ' (ci. i^lciii^aii') and by 13. -T. (p. 15S) 'to exhila- 
rate." The propoi moaning is given, however, by H.-'l". Supplement, p. 1 jS, 'to 
adhere, rom.iin.' This rendering is confirmed by instances of the word in this 
sense in i'ourtoenth century Knglish (ci. X.E.D.s.\. ilciii:;c). The verb is thus 
closely related to iHiii^an. 

29 lo-i.: Does //("' 7i'/^ spriii-& refer to the old men of 29.1 (lirooke, 'and they 
abuse it not ') or to the barleycorn (/>/i///., ' unci niclit dawider sprichts ') ? 1 pre- 
fer the former, as it emphasi/,es the contrast between the lot of these hajjpy men 
who ilo not contradict and (piarrel and the fate of the foolish wights, 'strong in 
speech,' in the preceding riddle. The two following lines (11-12) are thus ren- 
dered by Dr. Bright : ' .Vnd then after death (i.e. drunken sleep), they indulge in 
large discourse anil talk incoherently.' The construction of the ])assage favors 
this rciulcring. Perhaps the subject of the liddlc (• B.irlevcorn ') is the subject of 
the clause. 'I'hen uftir i/,-.;/.<- is suggested naturally by its fate in the e.uly lines 
of the poem (29 4-(>) ; and its 'copious speech' (wf/(/</// misluc) brought to the 
riddler's thought by the f.imili.ir personification 'Wine is a mocker, strong drink 
a brawler' (Proverbs xx, 1). 

29 11-12 See note to 28 i.s, sOi'in; on s//i7ii-. So we are told, J/i'(/. iSf.: 

I'dmu' will hwoteiv 
Ix'onu's InC'dstsi't.in, lin'.ihtrm stige'IS, 
cirni on corNro, cwiilescr.il IC't.iN 
inissi'iilUo. 

2912-13 ff. the close of A'/,/. 32 2,;-2.). See also (///. 503, micel is to secgan ; 
.Ind. i.(Si, micel is to secganne (Iler/.fekl, p. ii)). 



Rinni.K ;u) 

Dietrich (\I, .)0S-.(()0), I'rchn (pp. KjS-ioo), and Brooke(/'.". E.I.it., pp. 154-155) 
agree upon the answer ' Moon and Sun.' 'I'hough rrehn has failed utterly to es- 
tablish .my connection between A'/,/. 30 and luisebius 1 1. /',• / 1111,1 (where the two 
luminaries are not hostile, but brother and sister), and thougli Day and Niglit in 
riddle-literature are usu.dly friendly (Keusner 1, 17.1, Joo, II, oS ; Olileil, i^p. 00, 
127 ; Wiinsche, Kochs /.-. IX, .149-461), yet analogues are not wanting. .\s I have 
pointed out {M.L.X. Will, 104), Florcs, No. 6, tells us that Day tiees before 
Night, that the resting-place of Day is the Sun and of Night a cloud (compare 
Dispiitiitio Pif'piui tiiiii Albino, 54 ; Altercatio lliulriiini <•/ F.picttti, 55). In a Ger- 
man riddle (Simrock", p. \i), which has something in common with the fifth of 
Schiller's ' Parabeln und Riitsel," Day says of his sister Night : ' Du jagst mii ii, 
und ich jage dich.' Dietrich's solution is, moreover, strongly supported by tlie 
close likeness between the l.ist lines of our riddle, 'Nor did any one of men know 



NOTES 



139 



aftcrwiiiils tlie waiulciing of tliat wiglil', and llu; words of the Moon, I!cm MS. 
611, No. 59 {./;////. /.,//. 1, ](,ij) : 

(Juo niovear gressu nulliis cognoscere tentat, 
Cernere nee vultus per diuni signa valiibit. 

Tlie exquisite mytli in A'/)/. 30 < hallciim^s i oniparison willi llie \'cdir poems on 
the powers of nature (A'/^'TrfA/ 1, 113, 123; Ilaug, pp. 464 f.). Let us see how the 
early myth-maker weaves his story of elemental strife. The very ancient attitude 
towards the two great lights of heaven is seen in the deservedly famous Ossianic 
'Address to the Sun' (Clerk's Translation, 1870, I, 221): 

Sun! 
'I'hou comest forth strong in lliy Ix-auty. 



Tlie Moon, all pale, forsakes the sky 
To iiide herself in the western wave. 
'I'hou ill thy journi')' art alone. 

The Moon is lost aloft in the heaven; 
Thou alone dost triumph evermore 
In gladness ot light, all thine (jvvn. 



As I have pointed out {M.L.A\ XXI, 102), here are the chief motives of our 
riddle : the contest between the bodies, the loss of the Moon's light, and the 
triumph of the Sun. I repeat my detailed interj^retation of J\iiL 30. The Moon 
is seen bearing between his horns as b(joty a bright air-vessel which is the light 
captured from the Sun in battle (4, /iilJiC . . . of jtiliii hcrc.sil.c). He would build 
himself a bower or tabernacle {hnr = titlnn-iiaciilitDi, Spr. I, 150) in the burg and 
set it skillfully, if it so might be (see I'salms xix, 4, ' In them hath he sefa tab- 
ernacle for the sun '). Tlun the wonderful being, known to all men on earth, the 
Sun herself, appeared in the heaven (7 b, ofcr ivealles /irof), snatched from the 
Moon his booty, the light, and drove away the wretched wanderer (so in Ossian, 
'the Moon, all pale, forsakes the sky'). Then, hastening with vengeance on her 
journey, she fared towards the west [IVondcrs of Creation, 68, )^ewlte& jionne mid 
/>)' wiiliirt' on ■iocstrodor). (At this coming of the Sun,) dust rose to heaven (i)rob- 
ably raised by the coo! wind that, in early Germanic poetry, blows at the rush of 
day; see (Jiinun's Tciitonii- Mvthology, 745, 1518), dew fell on the earth, night 
departed. Nor did any one <jf men know afterward the journey of the Moon. 
Kid. yi and 95 — which I interpret 'Moon* — have three motives in common: 
these are the fame of the subject among earth-dwellers, its capture of booty 
in its proud hour, and its later disa])pearance from the sight of men. And, as 
Miiller points out (C^'. /'., p. 17), the riddle recalls a passage in the De Temporilnis: 
' Sdhllce se mona ond ealle steorran underfoS leoht of )Sre micclan sunnan,' etc. 
Trautmann abandons his earlier answer {.Im^dia, />/>. V, 40). ' Swallow and 
Sparrow,' in favor of this ])rosaii intirpreiation (/>'/>'. XIX, i')i): ' Tiie wonder- 
ful wight who bears booty, an air-vessel between his horns, is a bird carrying a 
feather in his beak. He seeks to build his nest, but the wind conies, snatches the 



I40 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

feather out of his mouth and drives the wretched creature home ; it then blows 
westward, because tc is needed for the alliteration.' Walz's solution ' Cloud and 
Wind ' {Harvard Studies VI, 264) is far more pleasing and suitable ; but I do not 
believe that this is as well adapted to the sense of the poem as Dietrich's ' Moon 
and Sun.' 

30 1-3 Trautmann renders (p. 191): 'Dieses wesen (ein vogel) fiihrt zwischen 
seinen hornern (dem ober- und unterkiefer seines schnabels) beute. Die beute ist 
ein leichtes und kunstvoll bereitetes luftgefass (ein gras- oder strohhalm oder 
eine feder).' I register twofold objection: first, that in spite of the well-known 
word /ivriiedtteblia the upper and lower parts of the beak would not in any flight 
of fancy be called ' the bird's horns ' ; and, secondly, that neither a blade of grass 
nor a feather would be termed an air-vessel on account of its hollowness (see note 
to line 3). 

30 2'^ hormiiH bitweonum. Dietrich (XI, 46S-469) points to Aldhelm's de- 
scription of the Moon as 'bicornea' (Epistola ad Acircium, Giles, p. 225). This 
doubtless goes back to the 'bicornis Luna' of Horace {Carmen Saeculare, 35). 

30 2*^, 4^ hu]7e. This corresponds to the hihendra hyitt of 95 5 '• I do not be- 
lieve with Dietrich that the word refers to the loss of the Sun's light in an eclipse, 
but with Midler {C.P., p. 17) that the riddler has in mind the ordinaiy changes of 
day and night. See the passage cited from the De Tcmporibiis. With /nl^e iJdaii 
cf. Gen. 2149, /nl&e licdan. Git. 102, hu&e gelieded. 

303^ lyftfait leohtlic. Cf. Ps. 1357-8: 

He leohtfatu leodum ana 

micel geworhte manna bearnuni. 

Here leohtfatu are the luminaries, the Sun and the Moon. The Psalter passage 
is a strong argument for our solution. 

30 V^ -walde hyre on psere b.vri<;. Ilerzfeld, p. 50, notes that this half-line is 
doubtful, and suggests as a possible reading for byrig the older form burge [cf. 
21 ^ where meter demands sircce for MS. sace\, but he points to Dati. 192 a, 
I'eah j'C j>ffir on byrig (MS., Gn., W. herige does not satisfy (^-alliteration), and to 
Sievers's examples of the shortening of the last foot of A-type to v.^ X (PBB. X, 
289). Holthausen's emendations {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 208), cited among vari- 
ants, distort the grammatical order. I have allowed the MS. reading to stand; 
cf. Gen. 2406 a, ic on )>isse byrig. With on Jiure byr/g cf. 95 6-^, in burgum ; 60 14-15. 
Godes ealdorburg . . . rodera ceastre. As Brooke renders (p. 154): 'The Moon 
would build his hall in the very citadel of Heaven.' In C//r. 530, on burgian 
is equivalent to in caelo. 

306'' <?if hit s\va nieahte. Cf. Beoiv. 2091, And. 1393, hit ne mihte svva; 1323, 
l>ynden hit meahte swa. For other e.xamples of omission of infinitive, see Spr. II, 
268; Sievers, Anolia XIII, 2. 

307'' ofer wealles hrof. Of this Heyne says {Halle Heorot, p. 14): 'Ob der 
Ausdruck -.uealles hrof dagegen mit Grein nur " Gipfel des W'alles " zu iibersetzen 
sei und eine hohe Mauer kennzeichnen sollte ist uns zweifelhaft, denn, wenn im 
.Supplement zu .^Elfrics Glossar parietinae glossiert werden rof lease and tnonlease 
calde weallas, so denkt sich der Glossator offenbar Mauern, deren Zinnen zugleich 



NOTES 



141 



mit der Resatzung dahinter versclnvundeii sind.' We meet the phrase oja- wealles 
hrof in Psalnis (Thorpe), 54 q, where it translates the Vulgate super muros. Grein, 
Dicltt., translates ' Uber des Walks Gipfel' ; B.-T., p. 1174, 'over the mountain 
top'; and Brooke, 'over the horizon's wall.' The phrase may have a very general 
meaning here, as one should say 'over the housetops'; but compare Browning's 
'And the sun looked over the mountain's rim.' 

308* t'u'fl". Miiller (C /"., p. 17) renders 'gewiss mehr "amicus" als " notus," ' 
and compares description of Sun, Wonders of Creation, 63, 7vlitig ond rvynsian luera 
cnl'orissuin, and Aldhelm's enigma De A^ocle, xii, p. 270: 'die lampas Titania 
Phoebi — quae cunctis constat amica.' But the closest parallel is found in the 
first lines of Nid. 95. 

309-^ ahroddo ]7a Jja hujjc. Cf. Gen. 2113, hu?ie ahreddan. 

30 11'' ford' oiiptte. For many examples of the phrase, see Spr. II, 343. 

30 13-^ nilit for'O gewat is rendered by Grein, Brooke, and Trautmann, 'night 
came on.' There is not the least warrant for this rendering; and Miiller, C. P., 
p. 17, rightly translates 'die Nacht schwand dahin.' V^hen /or& gewdt appears 
elsewhere in like context, it means in each case 'departed ' or 'began to depart ': 
Lule ix, 12, gewat se dffig for'S ('dies coeperat declinare '), Ge7t. 2447, for'5 gewat 
£fenscima. Compare with our passage Fk. 9S-99, on daegred, ond seo deorce niht • 
won gewTteS. Lines 12-13 ^^^ ^ short but vivid description of the dicgredwoma 
(Krapp, note to Aiid. 125). 

30 13-14 Walz and Trautmann seek to sustain their interpretation ' Wind ' by 
reference to John iii, 8, ' The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the 
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.' But 
'the disappearance of the moon ' is found not only in Latin enigmas {supra), but 
at the close of our riddle's mate, Rid. 95. 



RIDDLE 31 

Dietrich (XI, 469) offered the plausible solution ' Rain- Water.' ' This is always 
ready to run (3 a), is disturbed by fire (3 b), and is collected in the air (2 b).' Ac- 
cording to Dietrich, 31 5-6 refer to the washing before the meal, and 31 7-g to the 
♦Taufwasser' (cf. 8438, firene dwiesce^). Prehn, pp. 199-201, follows Dietrich's 
interpretation, and seeks to trace the chief motive of the problem to Symphosius 
9, the strife with fire to Eusebius 15, and the 'blooming grove' to Aldhelm i, 
3, 'sed madidis mundum faciam frondescere guttis.' While the association of 
water and fire in a storm-cloud may well explain the opening lines, which have 
much in common with Water riddles of folk-literature {M.I. .A'. XVIII, 100, 
note 19), the fourth line, beam bldu<ende, I'vrnende gled,-pre.s.e\\is a serious obsta- 
cle to this solution. Prehn regards this as a pleonasm, completing the thought of 
the preceding line : 

Vom Feiier bcunruhigt, 
\\'enn Glut den bliihenden Hain sengt. 

But the grammatical construction does not permit this reading, and we are forced 
to the conclusion that these nominatives merely represent certain phases of the 



142 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

subject, which in such case can hardly be Water. Trautniann, An£;Ua, Ph. V, 47, 
suggested the answer ' Das Ahrenfeld,' but he later {^BB. XIX, 213 f.) abandoned 
this in favor of the solution of Blackburn (yoiirnal of Gertnanic Philology III, 
1900, p. 4), which is thus presented. ' The true solution, I think, is dn beam in 
the various senses that the word carries in Old English, tree, log, ship, and cross 
(probably also harp and hnal).' Blackburn translates as follows: 

I am agile of body, T sport with the breeze ; (free) 

I am clothed with beauty, a comrade of the storm ; (/ree) 

I am bound on a journey, consumed by fire ; (ship, tree) 

A blooming grove, a burning gleed. {tree, log) 

Full often comrades pass me from hand to hand, ( harp) 

Where stately men and women kiss me. {cup r*) 

When I rise up, before me bow 

The proud with reverence. Thus it is my part 

To increase for many the growth of happiness, (the cross) 

Trautmann accepts the answer bi-ani, but rejects the meanings ship, harp, and 
cup, believing that the first four lines refer to the ' tree ' in the forest, the last five 
to the 'cross.' Later in his BB. article, he proposes, at the suggestion of his col- 
league Professor Schrors, the ' osculatorium * or ' instrumentum pacis ' or ' stabar- 
tiges kiissgeriit ' ; but this has nothing in its favor; indeed, the thing is not heard 
of until five centuries later. 

Blackburn's solution invites the support of parallel passages. The opening lines 
of Rid. 54 picture the tree in the forest : 

Ic seah on bearwe beam hlifian 

tanum torhtne ; J'a;t treow wa;s on wynne, 

wudu weaxende. 

And Rid. 56 describes the beam as the rood of Christ. 'Y\\2.\. fiis for&weges (3 a) 
refers to ' the ship,' seems to me likely in the light of the association of ' tree ' 
and 'ship,' not only in many folk-riddles (Wossidlo, No. 78, note) but in the Runic 

Poem, 77-79: 

Ac by)' on eor)>an elda tearnum 
flSsces fodor, fere)> gelome 
ofer ganotes ba^h. 

Compare also the use of i^nidu as 'ship,' AV</. 4 24 . Although 316 recalls the 
kissing of horn or of beaker in the other riddles {^Rid. 153, 64 4), the use of bi'a7n 
in the sense of 'cup' is not elsewhere found; and the supposed reference to a 
drinking-vessel seems more than doubtful. In spite of the well-known word gleow- 
beatn, I am inclined to think that we have no reference to the harp in 31 5, but 
that the last five lines of the poem refer to ' the cross ' — if we accept Blackburn's 
interpretation of the enigma, rather than Dietrich's. 

31 I There are three strong arguments for leghysig, as opposed to lie bysig or 
licbysig: it is the reading of both versions (a leg; b lig) ; it accords with Idee (i b), 
as Idceiide leg or lig appears frequently in the poetry (Dan. 476, Chr. 1594, Rl. 5S0, 
mi); and, as Holthausen points out (/>'/'. IX, 357-358), it is in harmony with 3 b, 
Jyre gebysgad (b geinylted), and 4 b, byrnende gled. 



NOTES 143 

The elemental character of the first lines of the poem seems admirably adapted 
to the solution ' Rain-Cloud charged with fire' (see Pliny's account of Water, iVat. 
Hist. bk. xxxi, chap, i, cited M. L. A". XVIII, 100) ; but the grammatical difficulty 
in 31 4 is unfortunately insuperable {supra). 

Grein and Trautmann render lichysig ' geschiiftiges leibes ' ; and Blackburn, 
•agile of body.' Dr. Bright favors this reading. 

31 2 bo>viin<Ien mid wuldre. This phrase may well be applied to fire {leg) : 
cf. BecTtO. 3 1 46-3 1 47, swogende leg | wope bewunden. 

31 3 fus forflwcges. Cf. E.xocf. 248, fus for'Swegas. For many examples of the 
genitive construction with y>?j-, see Shipley, p. 75. — 1> fyre gcinyltcd. Cf. El. 
131 2, hurh fyr gemylted. — a fyre gebysgad. Water is described as lyfte gebys- 
gad {Ph. 62). 

31 4 beam blowende. In Rid. 2 s-.j the wind shakes the wood, bear^vas 
blidhwate. Cf. And. 144S, gebldwene bearwas. The phrase suggests a line of the 
' Aqua' riddle (Brussels MS. 604 d, twelfth cent. ; Mone, A)iz. VII, 40) : ' Nemus 
exalo, rideo pratis.' In accord with the 'Water' solution is Ph. 65-67, waiter 
wynsumu . . . bearo ealne geondfaraJ^. 

31 7 onhjebbe. Grein, Spr. II, 346, derives from onliabbaii, ' abstinere' {hapax), 
and translates ' mich fern halte, abwesend bin,' in Diclit. 'mich enthebe ' (so 
Trautmann). B.-T., p. 754, on the other hand, derives from the frequent on- 
hebban, 'raise, lift up,' which is the meaning accepted by Blackburn {sttpra). As 
the form hcebbe for hebbe appears. Psalms (Thorpe), 24 1, as onhebban is of common 
occurrence, and as the context favors it rather than the unmeaning ' withdraws,' I 
follow B.-T. 

31 8 rt mid miltse; b miltsiim. Grein, Spr. II, 251, renders in this place 
'hilaritas,' ' laetitia' (?) but, as Trautmann points out {BB. XIX, 214), the examples 
which he offers support rather the meaning ' Demut ' (cf. Az. iiS, 146, 154, And. 
544, miltsum). B.-T. gives very doubtfully the definition 'humility' (?) for the 
Azarias passages. All the citations favor the reading of the ^text. 



RIDDLE 32 

Dietrich (XI, 469) regards ' the rare singing thing ' of this riddle with ' a voice 
in its foot and two brothers oti the neck ' as the Bagpipe — stvcgelhorn (' sam- 
bucus,' WW. 44, 37 ; 'simfonia,' id. 483, 17, Ilpt. Gl. 445, 19) — with the two flutes 
at the lower end of the hollow-sounding bag. He adds : ' If the mouthpiece of 
horn swells up the head and body of the bag which is embraced by the arm of 
the player, while the fingers rest upon the flutes, which run into the neck of the 
bag, then the thing possesses at every point a complete likeness to a bird, that 
touches with his beak the mouth of the blower' (cf. 1. 7, fet ond folme fugele 
gelice). The siuegelhorn or ' sambucus ' is regarded by Padelford (pp. 35, 102) as 
a stringed instrument ; for in MS. Tib. C. VI the sambuca is represented as 'an 
odd pear-shaped instrument of four strings,' and in Ifpt. Gl. 445, 21 it is a synonym 
of 'cithara.' While Padelford accepts (p. 50) the Bagpipe solution, he finds its 
ancient equivalent not in the swegelhorn or ' sambucus ' but in the Latin ' musa,' 



i.|.l KiDDii's oi'' 111 I', i:.\i:ii:k hook 

•i.imcu.i," .uul 'ili.'ui^.' • Mus.i' is glossed l>y //,,"<• •■<hiv /nci.f//,' (WW. ',ii, 22) 
.111(1 • 1 .iiucii.i ■ 1>\' .i,;'/;'/^//'(- (/'> Hi/i-u//us (//. ;So, .'iiV ' 'I'lie (hoi us is ilic usu.ii n.mu> 
Idi (he l>.i};|ii|>c .imoni; llic iluwrh wiitris. In (lie ImmiIoimic .uul I'iIhi ins MSS. .iic 
(li.iwinr.s ol llu'(li(Mns (.Simli. //.•»,,•'..•, pi. w'O. . . . riicsc iiisl 1 imicnis .iic i (>n 
\ ciuion.il. Ii.l\ 111;; .1 loiiiul liods .ind 1 w o pi pes opposilc c.u h ollici. In I lie Tiin'iius 
lu.imisi 1 ipt is .1 seeoiul i honis, w Uk Ii li.is .1 sipi.iie InuK .ind 1 wo pipes 1 01 Mow in 1; 
in si e. id ol one. liul I he niosi s.il isl.u loi v di.iw in;; is in .mol hei ni.inus( lipl ol this 
lel.iled iMonp, ihe one .11 .^1 r.l.iise. |('omp.iie S(hull/, /',;,v '':rf:.u'i<- ltb,n l..|;,7.| 
I Irie .1 in.in is M,.w ine, 011 I lie shoi 1 pipe ol .1 loiiiid liodied ( hoi lis, .ind, with the 
lell li.md, is liiii',ei me, the opposiu- pipe, wlihh li.is se\ci.il holes, .ind wI'.kIi lei 
mill. lies in .1 j;ldtes(pie doe.'s lie.id ' (I'.iilell'oid, p. sO. Ti.uil ni.inn, ./'.•;•.'.■.; />7'. 
\', 1'), su,!;^(>sls ' Kiddle,' .111(1 l.ilei (r.ulelloul, p. y 'Mhe ' * hiol l.i" ; but he does 
not siist.un these sohillons. 

l>i. Iliii'ht makes these \i'iv lielpliil siii;i;estii>ns tli.it put the • K.n^pipe' sohi 
tioii Ix-Ncnd doulM : • The l>.i,e,iiipe looUs like .1 liiid c.iiiied on the sln'uldeis with 
the leet pioie(liiii; upw.iid ( tin- diones, two in numliei). The poet spe.iks ot 
ihesi- le;;s in the .lii .is f,-t >•>!,/ folmc /lli;Ylf };f!i, . (1. 7) ; the '.•.■.'■ (1. <>) is ihe > li.intei 
.ind is .It the loot of Ihe instiiimeni (11. 1 ;, .\>). Ihe !;endei ol the p. ills is im 
poll. ml The ( h.mtei (the sistei) is the lem.de voii c. it (.lilies Ihe \\\^\\ notes 
.ind tlie tune, the deepvoi(ed hiollieis .ue the diones (11. .• 1 .•;')•' 

I'lehn, p. .'S.', tinds no I.ilin soiines loi this piohlem ; .ind i kisses it with siieh 
liililU's as A"/.;'. Oi, "the Keed,' .uul 70, 'the Sh.iwni.' It lescmMes llie tiisl only 
ill its j;il'l of son;;, Ihe se( end only in sul>je( I (.■•.•',.•'). \\ ilh the ("leiinan riiUUes 
ol iniisi( .d instiuments (Kolilei, Wiimtir/hth. \ , iS^o, ,; ■> i , No. -'S) it lias notli 
ine, ill lominon; luii 111 its seventh lint- furnishes .111 .in.iloi;iie to the I .ithii.ini.in 
•<;ei!;e' liddle (."^i lileu hei , p. joo). 

3a 1 I ('(Mup.iie the (ipenini; l(>miul.i in _< ^ 1 ; >vr;«'( t inn ;;elVM'<\va«l. ("f. 
/iVi'.'C. is;', wi.ellum ;;elnmden. 

I J , Ihe iiielei and 3 j s |.,mIi l.i\ 01 the /.•,• [ v.T.,it • . ] ol ('os,. /•.■•'.'>' Will, 1 .'o, 
i.ilhei til. Ill the //,•[ .•('(•? ] (>l llei.leld, p, dS .1 n.iliii.d (>iiiission, howc\ei, <mi 
a( I (Mini ol the lollowing :vttiini. \v«M-nm on j>«Mnon.i;«'. (1. 3J11. eoihim on 
i;einon!;e : 3^ 11, weinm on \vonj;o (I'll. i;einonL;e). 

3.' I. The liisi li.ill line is l.iullv. In.ste.id ol 1 lei .leld's ('////7.'i'/;/<'(/' or ,V»>//Vr//(/'«', 
01 1 lollh.iuscn's :,.',•.,.•■,■.■,■ 01 .:,->i'\\if,i, m.iv we not le.ul .\t/>i-)-;<'i-ii'-,l \,i-t //r/A'] .-* 
^ 'I. 35 ;, nel>l> l>i|' hvie .el uvtte. niheiwe.iid );on;;eN ; il 1, Neli is nun niheiwe. ud 
riu' be.ik 01 ( h.intei is d>>wiiw.iid when the pipe is .•'.■ .•/.>.■. 

_(.• Tel onil Tolnie. it .•Sl^ I. 1.1 ne lolni.i ; 40 ii>, lot ne lolni ; 68 o, I'el ne 
l|olinel; />'.•,•.('. /.j s. lei oml lolm.i fnnclc nelMM>. The Kiddle of the 1 .illuianian 
liddle (SelileieluM. p. .'oo) is likened t(> .1 biid whivh laiiies its ej;j;s under its neek 
.uul (lies shiillv fu'iu i|s le.ii \(>te the kit ei ///</«? <) /■<•., of whi('h the uppei p. lit 
01 nunithpun (• leseniMed tlie l>e.ik (>l .1 hiid. 

3 J s rf. 59 i. ne leki lule.N, ne l!eo!.'.,in ni.i-,!;. lint the suhie(t o( this fiddle has, 
in its plivsii'.il ( li.ii.u tei isti( s, little in ((inmum with the siihjeels k.A 59 ('Well'^ 
.uul 70 (' Sh.iwin'^. with wlii( h richn, p. .'S.', ((Mnp.iies il. 

3J 11 oH on«l •;clonie. I'im otliei ex.unples, see .V;V . 1, .\2\. eorluni on 
f;onion}i«». ('\. jj 1, weiiini >mi j;em(inj;e. 



N()i'i:s 145 

32 1' sKcA n't syiiihlr. ('I'. Mod. 11;, sitliiiN on symlilc. AikiiIki iimsii .il in 
Strmiu-nt, tlir Kccil pipr, 61 •(, speaks over llif iiichI hem li. <'l, W iillsl.in, ll,>ni. 
^(6, Id, Ilearpc ami pipe and niistlice k''MK-""'" 'I'< hI'I'^ <"\\ "i> Ixoisclc. siclrs 
I>i<l('|>. Cf. (/■(■//. J. 137, 25^3, siclus l)i(l;\n. 

3a 14 wcriim on \v<>iik«>. This is n<>l In lie t li.in^;cil willi 'riidipi' into ,v/ 

^^V///('//j,>-«' (32 4, I 1), llfCaUSf llms wiiuld hr l.i.l ihi' unnlpl.iy lipnll Vi'i'//;; 'llchl,' 

'plain,' and looiii;; ' clifcU.' Tlir l'.i(;pipc pmiLiinis ils p<i\\ri Id men in, <ii by 
means of, llic i honk. — N«^ . . . wllit |»I}i;«m>. V\. 59 i,,, nc wilil iU'h. 

33 I'i Door <loiiH»H j[r<'orii. ('{.And. 1 ^/iS, dcoi ond (|iini)_',i()iii. I, ike I' 1 Innillci, 
I begin a new senleiu c u illi the line, < onsi 1 uinj; I lie .uljri lives w il h ///.', I h. Ili ii'Jil 
prefers, willi (■.n.,\\' , lo i(j;.iul Ihcsi- as a pail of ihc [)if( edin;; ( hnis<\ 

3a 17 1"h'h;«'I'. I hf length ol liic diphlhoiif; is ilisc iissed by Mailcit, p. .; 5. The 
sound is always long in (.'ynewiilf (see 'rrautniann, Kyiitr,viilJ\ p. 7.1), and is always 
long in ihe h'iddlcs (see 13 n, 21 2, 29 1, 41 I'l). Sievers {PlUi. X, .191)) has shown 
tliat it is short, only in Sonlh I'.nglaiul poems. 

3210 I<'rn>(,w<'<l liyrHdiiii. Cf. 15 n, hyislnm fi.elwcd; 54/ s, wonnnm hyi- 
Stum I foran gefialwed. W ilh /■'>■, i/wrd I bej^in a new senlcnee, as llie pliiasc is 
more in keeping wilii llie Idjlowiii)^ liiiin wilh llu; |)ie(eiling t!ioii)'Jil, This is 
pi.K til .illy iIh' punclu.ilinn <>l I'.llmnller. 

3221 IioimI \vai'u'<)'. Against 1 )ii'tri('li's //(';v/7C'rJ';v;f^ 'Si li:it/,b(;sit/i'r ', 93 .•(), //rvv/ 
warii&, speaks comhisively. (!f. /I'lunci. 2276-2277 ; 

hdiil (111 liiiisiin, |mt lie iia^iNcn Hiilcl 

U.ll .1 i\ willi I II III 1 101 I. 

I lord is ajjplied here (so liiinks 1 )i . biij^lil ) lo I he ( on I cuts of Ihc iiaj.;, Ihc air — 
a meaning tiial seems to me amply siippoited by 18 m looinldiord, ihe < onU'iils of 
the Mallisla, and by 93 2(. Iioid, the ink within the hoin. The brothers, as above 
noted, are tlie bass-pipes or drones. The passage tiiin be( oiiies clear: 'She (Ihe 
instrnment), when slit; holds the lieasnie (i.e. is inllated), wilhoiil 1 lollies (so 
H.-T., Siii)i>lemenl, p. 61) (yet) piond ol her rings, has on her iku k hei bioihers 
• — she, a kinswoman with might.' I >r. Hiighl prefers lo regard llie ( li.iiilii nol 
the whole instrument as the subjci I ol the dcpi-iuh-nl clause. \\ illi lliis I c an 
not agree, aliliongh liki' him I bclii'\c ihal Ihe poci in ihc piMSoiiilicalion iiiici:; 
had in mind the licblc notes. L'nlikc Thorpe, 1 < annoi view luir bt'Oi^uin as a 
compound. 

3a 2.v-'i !■' 'I this con( liuling f 01 inula, sec 29 i.r- 1 ( ( 1 nl rod net ion). 



ki 1)1)1,1': ;:;i 

' Unless this be a waggon or a tail,' says Conybcarc, /////.t7/v///(V/.v, p. 210, 'the 
editor must confess himself not siiljiciently skilful in wise wortls to decyphei its 
occult allusions.' HoiiliMwek (.S/;-. I, ^jS, s. v. ;,'7///r/(///) answers 'Millstone'; and 
Dietrich (XI, .t'";) ofleis llu' solution '.Ship,' which has been generally .km pled. 
The 'one fool' is the- keel, tin' ribs ihe be.ims, ,iiid llie month the opening on 
ileck to admit w.ires into tlii! holil. rnhn to the lonliaiy, this riddle bears 



146 RIDDLES OP^ THE EXETER BOOK 

no relation to Symphosius 13; but, as Dietrich has pointed out, its tenth line 
finds an analogue in the 'Ship' riddle of MS. Bern. 611, No. 11 {Ant/i. Lat. I, 
354), 'Vitam fero cunctis, victumque confero multis.' It has nothing in com- 
mon with the Latin riddles of Lorichius (Reusner I, 17S), nor with modern Eng- 
lish and German problems cited by Miillenhoff (Z,f ./../. J/. Ill, 17). Yet Chambers's 
'Ship' query. No. 16, parallels ours in its last line, 'And no a fit (foot) but ane ' 
(of. Petsch, pp. 47-4S); and the Islenzkar Gdtttr offers many like queries. In /. G. 
151, the ship crawls on its belly footless; while in /. G. 514 the eight-oared craft 
has eight feet. The Anglo-Saxon vessel is like the Kaiipskip of /. G. 615, 651, 
bearing food to men. Compare also /. G. 131, 293, 429, 516,585, 725, 1162-1194 
(seventeenth century). 

This riddle resembles the preceding (32) not only in the use of the opening 
formula, but in general plan of construction. It belongs to the class of 'monster' 
problems. 

The Anglo-Saxon ship is thus described by Strutt, Iforda, p. 42 : ' Plate 9, fig. i 
(Tib. B. V) represents the form and construction of a more improved ship of the 
Anglo-Saxons (sometime before the Norman conquest), when they began to build 
with planks of wood and deck them over. The stern is richly ornamented with 
the head and neck of a horse ; the two bars which appear at the stern were for 
the steering of the ship instead of the rudder; on the middle near the mast is 
erected the cabin (in the form of a house) for the commodious reception of the 
passengers ; the keel runs from the stern still growing broader and broader to 
the prow or head of the ship, which comes gradually decreasing up to a point 
for the more ready cutting of the water in the ship's course. When the vessel 
had received her full burthen she was sunk at least to the top of the third nailed 
board ; so that the prow itself was nearly, if not quite immerged in the water. 
Over the prow is a projection . . . perhaps either for the convenient fastening of 
the ship's rigging or to hold the anchor.' Shijis of the same pattern appear in 
Harl. MS. 603, ff. 51 r., 54 r. ; and Noah's ark is not only described (Ferrell, Teti- 
ti'nic A)itiquities in the Genesis, 1893, pp. 32-33) but pictured as a ship of the 
time (both in Cott. Claudius B. IV, ff. 14-15, and in the Credmon manuscript, 
Archaeologia XXIV, pi. Ixxxviii, Ixxxix, xc). For the various kennings of scip in 
Anglo-.Saxon poetry, see Merbach, Das Meer etc., pp. 29 f. Several names are 
found in the Kiddles : 3 24, hlud wudu ; 3 28, 19 4, ceole ; 15 6, merehengest ; 59 5, 
naca nxgledbord. 

33 4 grindan w\G greote. As Dietrich says, this phrase is sufficient to identify 
the object of the riddle. Compare Gii. 1309, grond wi'N greote {s/iip). 

33 5-6 Cf. 40 10-13, 59 7-S, 93 25, for like descriptions of the personal features 
of the subject. 

336 oxle nf' carinas . Cf. 86 6, earmas ond eaxle ; />^<'7<:'. S35, earm ond eaxle. 

339 inutT. Dietrich (XI, 470) compares Gen. 1364, merehuses mu\S i^Xoa/i's 
ark). 

33 in This line presents difficulties. Thorpe renders fere ' in its course,' and 
suggests driri;&, ' draws,' for dr?oge&. But the meter is against this emendation. 
Sweet's rendering oi fere, 'serviceable' (Diet.), with an eye to this passage, does 
not explain the construction with dreoi^e&. Grein notes, -Syr. 1,282: ^/ere = ftcre, 



NOTES 147 

ace. z\\ /iirii, i. [see Lcid. 13, aerigfacrac], "das Tragen," " 15ringen " ; " scip fere 
foddoiwelan (gen.) folcscipe (dat.) dreogeS (fere dreogeS = fereJS)."' This seems 
to be derived from Ilietrich (XI, 470) : ' Es erklart sich als umschreibung i\\x feriaii 
("herbeifiihren ") nach dem hiiufigen si&as dreoi^an statt si&ia/i.' B.-T., p. 296, 
follows Grein. The phrase finds a parallel in Gv/i. 1746-1747: 

Gewit ]->\\ iifi feran and Jiine fare hedan 
ceapas to cnosle. 

Perhaps a play upon words is intended, as /err means also ship {S/>r. I, 270). In 
Dicht. the line is rightly rendered 'bringt es der Volkschaft FUlle der Nahrung.' 

33 10-13 These lines show that the ship of the riddle is a merchant-ship. The 
cargo of such a vessel is well described in the speech of the merchant in y^ilfric's 
Colloquy (WW. 96): ' ic secge J^a^t behefe ic eom ge cinge and ealdormannum 
and weligum and eallum folce [33 11-13] . . . ic astlge min scip mid hlzestum mlnum 
and rowe ofer sSlTce dSlas and cype mine |)ingc and bicge Jnncg dyrwyr'Se )'a on 
Jiisum lande ne beocN acennede and ic hit to-geliede eow hider mid micclan plihte 
ofer sae and hwylon forlidenesse ic j^olie mid lyre ealra Hnga, unease cwic ajtber- 
stende.' He brings with him 'paillas and sTdan, deorwyr)'e gymmas and gold, 
selcfil>e reaf and wyrtgemange (pigmenta), win and ele, ylpes-ban and ma'stlinge 
(auricalcum), jer and tin, swefel and glaes and hylces fela.' A. L. Smith (Traill's 
Social England I, 202) notes that in the time of yEthelred (cf. Schmid, Gesetze, 
p. 218, 'De Institutis Londoniae,' § 2) traders from Normandy, France, Ponthieu, 
and Flanders brought into England ' wine, fish, cloth, pepper, gloves, and vinegar.' 
From the north and east came furs, skins, ropes, masts, weapons, and ironwork. 

33 13 riee ond heane. Cf. 95 2, rlcum ond heanum ; Gn. 968, ricra ne heanra. 

33 13-14 With the closing formula cf. 68 1S-19, Secge se J^e cunne, | wlsfaestra 
hwylc, hwx't seo wiht sy; El. S57, Saga, gif Jm cunne (Herzfeld, p. 20). 



RIDDLE 34 

E.xcept in two lines, this ' Iceberg ' riddle bears no relation to the many ' Ice ' 
problems ancient and modern. But the 'mother-daughter' motif (349-11) is com- 
mon to all riddles of similar subject, and has been traced at length by me {i\I.L.A'. 
XNlir, 4; /'. M.L.A. XVIII, 246; Mod. Phil. II, 564). The Roman gramma- 
rian Pompeius tells us that this question was often in the mouths of the boys 
of Rome (Keil, Scriptores Art. Gram. V, 311, cited by Ohlert, p. 30, note). The 
Ice riddles of Symphosius (No. 10) and Tatwine (No. 15) do not contain the met- 
aphor, but it is cited by Aldhelm in his F.pisiola ad Acirciutn (Giles, p. 230; Ma- 
nitius, Zu Aldhelm iiiid Bicda, p. 52), and appears in Bede's Flares {Mod. PItil. 
II, 562), in Bern MS. 611, No. 38 {Aiit/i. Lat. I, 363), among the Lorsch Rid- 
dles, No. 4 (Diimmler, I/aiipis Zs. XXII, 25S-261), in Karlsruhe MS. of Engel- 
husen {Mones Anz. VIII, 316), in three of Reusner's authors (1,21,82,259), 
and in Holme Riddles, No. 5. I note several versions among the unpublished 
MSS. of the British Mu.seum : in Latin form in Arundel 248 (fourteenth century), 
f. 67b, and in Harl. 3831 (sixteenth century), f. 7 a; and as a four-verse enigma 



148 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

in riarl. 7316 (eighteenth century), p. 60, f. 2Sb. Tuttenham, Arte of English 
JWsiiy 1589, Bk. Ill, Arber's Reprint, p. 19S, selects a popular version of this 
to exempUfy ' Enigma.' It is found too in J'rtlly Riddles 1631, No. 12 (Brandl, 
p. 54). The query appears among modern Cicrman / 'olksrdtsel, as Carstens (Schles- 
wig-Holstein), Zs. d. V.f. Vk. VI (1896), 422, and Simrock^ p. 96, show. According 
to Ohlert, p. 50, ' Die Verwandtschaft mit dem griechischen Ratsel von Tag 
und Nachl ist nicht zu verkennen : tx-r\rip ifxrjv tIktu Kal rlKTOfxaL {Aiitkol. Pal. 
xiv, 41: cf. Athenaeus x, 451 f.).' The motif appears in the 'Smoke' riddle of 
Symphosius (No. 7). 

As Brooke says (A'. /:". /,//., j). iSi) : 'The poet ])aints, with all the vigor of the 
North, the icelloe plunging and roaring through the foaming sea and shouting 
out, like a Viking, his coming to tlie land, singing and laughing terribly. Sharp 
are the swords he uses in the battle (the knife-edges of the ice), grim is his hate, 
he is greedy for the battle.' 

Ice is thus described in the Runic Poem, 29-31 : 

Is bytS oferceald, ungenietum slidor, 
glisna'^' glsshluttur gimmum gelicust, 
flor forste geworuht, fa'ger ansyne. 

For other references to Ice in the Riddles see 69, 84 35, 39- 

34 1 Wilit fwoin . . . lij?aii. ( f. 55 i, Ilyse cwom gangan; 86 1, Wiht cwom 
gongan. 

342 cyiiilit' from <'ool('. Cf. ,•///(/. 361, |>on cymllcor ceol; Beoii'. 38, cym- 
llcor ceol. 

34 5 hotcsriiH. This reading, instead of MS. /lete grim, finds support from .///(/. 
1395, 1562; Iieix&ogrim is an epithet of the north wind, Beow. 548. Not only 
hetegrini, but hliitsade, gryrellc, and egesfiil recall the vocabulary of the Andreas 
(1545, 1550, 1551)- — liiWletosaine. Klaeber {Mod. Phil. II, 145) says, 'This looks 
at first sight genuine (cf. Doomsday 88; And. 204), but the context seems to de- 
mand exactly the opposite of it.' Ilerzfeld, p. 68, suggests to siege, 'zugeneigt ' (so 
Dicht. ' zum kampfe geneigt '), which does not appear elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon ; 
and Klaeber jiroposes on 'wene, arguing that a confusion on the part of the scribe 
between ^oiene and siivte would lead him to change on to to. Ilolthausen, Engl. 
Stud. XXXVII, 208, prefers to eene (North, e^ne, CtTni). Why is any change neces- 
sary ? Brooke {E. E. Lit., p. iSi), who translates 'greedy for the slaughter,' says 
however in a note : ' The phrase might mean slow in beginning the war, but when 
engaged, bitter in battle-work, and the phrase might well apply to an iceberg.' 
The seeming contradiction is of a sort dear to riddle-makers. I'or scansion of 
34 5^, see Ilerzfeld, p. 50. 

34 r> bitor boadoM"ooroa. See 6 :;, beadoweorca srcd ; Prnn. 48. — bord- 
woallas. This is variously rendered : Th. ' bucklers ' ; Dicht. ' Schildmauern ' ; Spr. 
I, 133 ' litoris agger'; Brooke p. 181, 'the sides of the ships ranged along with 
shields'; Sweet Diet, 'the shore.' The phrase, I think, refers neither to shore 
nor to shield but simply to the sides of the ship, which is elsewhere the hord 
(59 5. Gn. E.x. 183, Clir. 861, etc.). Compare the Delphian Oracle's phrase 'wooden 
walls ' for ships ; and remember that a riddler is writing. 



NOTES 149 

34 7 lleteruiie bond. There is no reason to substitute onbond with Cosijn 
(PBB. XXIII, 129), who compares Becnv. 5or,onband beadurune. In the present 
passage, the iceberg 'binds, like a wizard, runes of slaughter' (Brooke, p. 181). 

34 9-13 These enigmatic lines find adequate explanation in Met. 28 58-63 : 

hwa wiindra'S J^xs 
o'SSe oSres eft, hwy |):ct is maege 
weorSan of w;vtere ? wlitetorht seined 
sunne swegle hat, sona gecerreS 
ismere iCnlic on his agen gecynd 
weorlSe'S to wa;tere.' 

The direct speech of the Iceberg suggests 39 6, 49 5, and tlie frequent addresses 
at the close of the riddles (Jansen, pp. 94, 95; Herzfeld, p. 36). 

34 9-10 inodor . . . J^a's df'orostaii. See 42 2-4, 84 4 (Water). The motive, so 
well known in riddle poetry, is again used, 38 8. 

34 II ajlduin c'li]?. Cf. Bcow. 706, yldum cu'5. 



RIDDLE 35 

As an answ-er Dietrich (XI, 470) offers ' Rake ' ; Trautmann, with far less 
reason, 'Bee.' The resemblance to the ' Serra' riddle of Symphosius, No. 60, is 
slight and may lie in the independent demands of similar subjects. (A far closer 
analogue to Sym. is found in the Antliol. Pal. xiv, 19, cited by Ohlert, p. 143). 
It is interesting to compare the ' Rake ' {Ih-i/a) riddles of Islenzkar Gdtnr, Nos. 
578, 62S, 1053, as well as the ' Shovel' problems of that collection (Nos. 154, 358, 
1 102, 1 135). The teeth and downward fall of the Rake recall particularly /. G., 578: 

Hver er snotin halalaung, d hausi er geingur, 
gemlur ber 1 gcitum rata 
gerir vinna til dbata ? 

Raca or nrct: appears as a gloss to ' rastrum vel rastellum ' (WW. 105,1), and 
is mentioned among the agricultural implements in the GerPfa list, Anglia IX, 
263 (Andrews, Old English A/aiior, p. 267). A capital illustration of the Anglo- 
Saxon rake — indeed of two — is found in MS. Cott. Claud. B. IV, f. 79 r. This 
is not dissimilar to the rake v^ith nine teeth in the Thorsbjerg bog-find (Du Chaillu, 
Viking Age I, 202, fig. 365). 

'"It is a thing," riddles Cynewulf of the Rake — "that feedeth the cattle." 
Well does it plunder and bring home its plunder — as it were a forager. The riddle 
is dull, but it ends with the poet's pleasure in the meadows — "the Rake leaves 
firm the good plants 

Still to stand fast in their stead in the field, 

Brightly to blicker, to blow and to grow." ' 

(Brooke, E.E. Lit., p. 146.) 

35 2'' The teeth of the Plow are mentioned, 22 14 ; and those of the Saw are 
thus described by Symphosius, 60 1-2 : 

Dentibus innumeris sum toto corpore plena. 
Frondicomam subolem morsu depascor acuto. 



150 RIDDLKS OF THE KXK'l'KK JK)OK 

35 3 Cf. II 1, 22 1 (I'low), 32 (> (liagpipe). 

354 to liiiiii tyliO'. This is paialleled liy A.-S. Clironicle, 1096; Orosiits\\\ 6, 
hUtn tiigoii\ and tlie Mod. I'-ngl. 'draw near home' (Byron, Don Juait I, 123). 

35 7-^^ l^'oi' another riddle-picture of an English meadow, ' the station of plants,' 
see 712-3. — ^vy^tllln l;rsto. Cf. Beoio. 1365, wudu wyrtum f;vst ; Dait. 499, 
wudubeam . . . wyrtum fast. 

359 beorhte blifaii. So AiuL 7S9, Chr. 701,904. — blowau <>ii<l ;>ro^van. 
Cf. Met. 20 9g, blowe'iS ond growe^' ; Vs. 64 n, blowa^ ond growa.N. 



Kini)T,E 8() 

As Dietrich first pointed' out (/V Ayiie-cni/fi Poctac Aetatc, 1S59, pp. 16 f.), this 
' Mail-coat ' riddle is preserved not only in the Exeter Bool: but in the Leiden MS. 
J'ivs (J. 106, 24'', in the Northern dialect. This MS. contains the enigmas of Sym- 
phosius and Aldhelm, and dates, as Dietrich proves on the evidence of the hand- 
writing, from sometime in the ninth century. Dietrich, who gives a facsimile of 
the page containing the enigma, believes that the scribe, whose name we infer to 
be Otgerus from a marginal entry, was an .\nglo-Sa.\on (ICadger or ]-".dgar) living 
on the continent, and tiiat he copietl out the riddle in Latin script (using, con- 
trary to luiglish custom, ln)th the & and ///) fioni an older manuscript. 

The Anglo-Saxon versions of the ritUUe follow very closely the l^atin of the 
' Lorica ' enigma of Aldhelm (iv, 3). Two lines of the Anglo-Sa.xon correspond 
throughout to a single line of the original. The Latin order of traits in the 
descrijition is departed from once, lines'4-5 being represented by lines 9-10 and 
7-S in the iMiglish. In this case the sequence of the translation is so far prefer- 
able to that of Aldhelm's te.\t that Dietrich believes that the rendering was made 
from an older and better version of the Latin enigma than has come down to us. 
Here is the ' Lorica ' riddle : 

Koscida mo gonuit golido do vistere tellus. (A.-S., 1-2) 

Noil sum setigero lanarum vellere facta, (3-4) 

Licia nulla trahunt, nee garrula fila resultant, (5-6) 

Nee crocea seres te.\unt laiuigine vermes, (<)-io) 

Nee radiis carpor, duro nee pectine pulsor; (7-S) 

Et tamen en vestis vulgi sernione vocabor. (11-12) 

Spiciila non vereor longis e.veinpta pharetris. (Leid. i_?-i4) 

The most superficial comparison of the Knglish te.xts will show that they are 
merely slightly differing forms of the same version. The only important differ- 
ence between them lies at their end: here the Exeter text omits to translate the 
last line of Aldhelm, fearing, so Dietrich suggests, to betray the solution, but adds 
the conventional tag of appeal to the cunning of the reader, which is omitted in 
the Leiden text, either because it was not in the original or because it is unessen- 
tial to the body of the riddle, or else because the scribe found himself pressed for 
room at the bottom of the page, as the MS. seems to indicate. 

Lehmann, B) Unite //. Helm iin iii^s. Beoivulftiede, 1SS5, 1 f., traces the history 
of 'lorica' or mail-coat from the earliest Germanic times through the Merovingian 



NOTES 151 

and Carolingian periods. Hatemann in liis Ten Years' Dii^^ffins^s, pp. 34 f., describes 
the supposed ' lorica' discovered at lientley Grange, with the boar hehnet : ' This 
consisted of a mass of chain work formed of large quantities of links of two de- 
scriptions attached to each other by small rings half an inch in diameter amalga- 
mated together from rust. There were present, however, traces of cloth which 
make very probable the supposition that the links constituted a kind of quilted 
cuirass by being sewn within or upon a doublet of strong cloth.' The absence of 
protective body armor in nearly all the early MSS. would seem to show that it 
was used only by a few persons of the highest rank (Keller, p. 97). This conclu- 
sion is supported by the evidence of the wills and laws (Lehmann, Gerviaii/a 
XXXI, 4S7). In the Beoiu., hov^-ever, the byrne or light ringed shirt of iron links 
is the possession of every one of a picked band of warriors. Miss Keller con- 
cludes that the scale armor ('lorica squamata') was popular on the Continent, and 
mail armor ('.lorica hamata') in England. See the illustrations of both printed by 
Strutt, //<vv/i7, p. 30, from the Cotton MSS., Claudius B. IV, and Cleopatra C. VIII. 

36 I Similar is the origin of the Sword, 71 2-3. 

36 a Cf. Ps. 126 4, of innaSe aerest cende. 

363 be^vorhtiio (Af/f/. biuorthu'). Dietrich (/?t' AVw. ^<?A p. 18) notes: 'Proxi- 
mum bittorthiC for hhcorlitc est participii genus femininum, loquitur enim ipsa res 
a poeta descripta, quam vult conjectura inveniri, quae res saepissime in aenigmati- 
bus anglosax. u<iht gen. fem. dicitur et hoc in aenigmate est lorica annulis ferreis 
texta.' The Exeter form is masculine, which can hardly refer to hvriic; but gram- 
matical gender is little considered in Riddles (see 24 7, 25 7, 26 8, 39 6-7, 41 passim). 
— Avullc llysum. Cf. Ps. 147 5, wulle flys. 

36 5-8 Andrews, Old Jiiiglish Mcuior, p. 273, notes that in the Gere/a {Atiglia 
IX, 263) 'we have a number of important terms applying to the loom which sup- 
plement the meager knowledge furnished by the Saxon literature. There was the 
frame of the loom {slodla/i), the welj-beam (lort;; glossed " liciatorium," WW. 187, 
11), later called yarn-beam, the wool-card (timpleaii), and wool-comb {untlcamli), 
the weft or woof (7t'//7, 'weft), the weaver's rod {anib), the shuttle {ivejl, also 
scea&el), bobbin {slic), and reel for winding thread (crancstcvf), etc.; ... It is evi- 
dent from the " tow " tools here given and from such as are given in other lists 
(WW. 187-188, 262, 293-294) that spinning and weaving were in a very moderate 
state of development. . . . The loom itself was without treadles and we cannot be 
certain that it had cylinders for tightening the warp.' For a discussion of the 
Anglo-Saxon loom, see notes to Rid. 57. 

Stopford Brooke {E. E. Lit.,i^. 126) thus renders the lines: 

I have no enwoven woof, nor a warp have I, 

Nor resounds a thread of mine through the smiting of the loom, 

Nor the shuttle shoots through me, singing (as it goes). 

Nor shall ere the weaver's beam smite from anywhere (on me) ! 

365 weflc. Of 7vejl in the Gere/a list, Andrews notes (274, n.) : 'IFeJl, also 
scea&el. It is not easy to determine the difference, unless the former refer specially 
to the thread, which the shuttle carried, and the latter to the sheath within which 
the thread was contained.' B-.T.'s long discussion and copious references (p. 1 182) 



152 KIDDLKS Ol THK EXETER BOOK 

show that ?.'(•// is the gloss of 'cladica' or ' paiuicuhun ' and the synonym of u<cft 
and owcf, the weft or woof (see Dietrich, J'>e A'vii. .Idt., p. ly). 

36(1 proata. go|>rii»rii. In S/'r. II, 598, Giein regards //vi?/ in tliis jiassage as 
perhaps ' ein Theil des Webstuiils.' In J)ic/it. he translates 'durth der SLhlage(?) 
Wiiten.' It seems to mean here ' the pressing of multitudes ' — that is, ' the force 
of many strokes.' 

367 hrutciide hrisil. Dietrich says {De Kyn. Aet., p. 19): '• lirisil est radius, 
nondum navis fistulam textoriam continens, sed lignum in curvum cui (ilum in- 
texendum circumvolvitur, islandice winJa dictum cujus epitheton est Inutciidi 
"stridens" quod vet. theot. erat nlzonti, "stridulus."' I prefer Dietrich's /nil- 
teitdi (see Schlatter, iiifrii) to Sweet's hrutciuiitm (Leui. 7) for three reasons : it 
is in accord with the Exeter form, Inutciuic; /inltt'in/itm does not harmonize with 
the context, for it is the sluiltle {//rts//), not the mail-coat (»/<') that goes whizzing; 
and finally ;//<" would demand not hrutciidum but liriitendrc, as it is feminine (see 
I.cid. J, nice l'iii<>rf/i,i). 

36 s iliii {/.c'id. aaiii). There seems little reason to c]uestion the opinion of 
l>it'iii(.li (/'<• h'v II. .■!(■/. ,\t. 11)) and (uein {S/')-. 1, jS) that din, a hapax-legomenon, 
is the ' pecten textorius, sive lignum illud transversum (juo liliini niodo intextum 
pulsatur,' or, as Bosworth-Toller renders it, 'the reed or slay of the weaver's loom.' 
Thorpe without warrant changes the word to //w<;, ' the yarn-beam.' In the Gerefa 
list the word (/;///' ajipears, and is thus considered by Andrews {0/d F.iii^/is/i Mdiior, 
p. 274): 'We can get only an uncertain light upon this woicl. 1 irlHiniann has 
suggested its relation to Jin, meaning a weaver's rod. Tliis woid is foiiiul in (yne 
wulf, Kiddle 36, lie nice dliiooiiaii sccal dinas ciivssaii "nor do the weaxei's rods 
anywhere press me down." Tliis seems the most acceptable interpvetalioii. In 
the Gcrcfa enumeration (IX, Jd',, \i), a synonym is "pihten," wiiich Leo, .lii^c/s. 
C/oss. 520, 16, renders " der weberkamm aus latein. pcctcii ? " [see ////. 67. 404, 26]. 
This was a weaver's comb, the teeth of which, inserted between the threads of 
the wai[i, by a dowinvaul pressure or stroke packed the thread of the web closer 
tngetliei. It seiAcd tlu' purpose of the Jiii or slay-rod. In fact dm is the Saxon 
translation (in Cxnewull's lidille) ol iht; /cc/c 11 (''diiro nee ]iectine pulsor ") in 
Aldhelm's version.' 

36.) (f. 41 S5, wrStllce gewefen wundorcra-fte. T cannot agree with Ibdoke 
(p. I j(>) that this line of the riddle ' takes us into the heart of ancient heatheiulom.' 
1 1 is simply a fairly accurate ti.m slat inn of Aldhelm's Latin, and canmU be renderetl 
'Me the Snakes wove not through the crafts of \\'yrds.' U'vrdii cru~/'tii>ii has lost 
its old force, and means nothing more than ' dmch Schicksalskriifte ' {Dic/it.). 

36 K' <;;o<lwel)l>. ("f. Met. S ..,? : 

tie hoora wada I'oii in.'i 
sioloce siowian, ne hi sianKra'ftiiin 
godweb giredoii — 

See Lclid. II, 10, 16, god geolu seoluc ; III, 174,21), seoluc oXiie godweb. I"or 
long discussions of this word and its analogues, see Ileyne, Fiinf Bite her III, 235; 
Klump, Altengliselie HandivcrkHanteti, p. 77. 
36 14'^ Cf. Beow. 627, wisfitst wordum. 



NO'IKS 153 

LEIDKN KIDDLE 

Since the casting of my text of the Laden Kiddle, Dr. ()tto R. S.hh.tt., has 
generously sent me from Leiden the results of his careful study of the nmnuscnpt. 
Mis detailed discussion of every debatable point in the text deserves larger treat- 
ment than my present space affords, but 1 am fortunate in being able to prmt 
his version of the problem and his Latin translation — however different his m- 
terpretation may be from my own. 

• The following,' writes Dr. Schlutter, ' is my reading of Leiden Riddle metrically 
arranged. What is bracketed is no longer visible. The letters in small capitals 
are very faint and hence doubtful : ' 

Mec fe ueta erSuonj; uundrum freoris 

ob hif innaXa; xrift cx-[nda]. 

Ni uuat ic mec biuortha; uullan fliusu, 

heru derh hehcra:ft hiisidoUTA uyn. 

Uundna; me ni biaS uefla;, ni ic uarp hafai, 

ni fierih •NreaunT;iNra-c Nra;' me hla;mmedK. 

Ne me iirutenhe Inilil fcelfa^iS, 

ne mec ouaNan ciiani fceal cnyiffaN. 

Uyrmaf mec ni autlun uyndicra;ftum, 

•SaSi soelu ^odueb ?;catu fra^tuath. 

Uil [m] mec huetrx- fua;deh uidcc ofx'r eorSu 

haatan mitii lieliNum hyhtlic 7;iua;de. 

Ni anoeT;un ic me asrii^fajra; e^fan bro^u, 

•f;eh^■i niM.-KN Ki.ANaf [fracajdlica; ob cocrum i.()N[?;um]. 

Me humida tellus mire gelida 

ex visceribus suis principio gcnuit. 

Ignore nie coopertam lanac velleribus, 

villis per artificium, laborem mentis. 

Volutae non mihi sunt panuculae, non ego licium habeo, 

non per tortile opus fihim mihi garrulat (garrulavit), 

Non stridens mihi radius vibrat (vibravit), 

n<m me ulla parte pecten pulsabit. 

Hombyces me non texuerunt plumaria arte 

qui qiiidem flavum sericum vestibus fahricant. 

Verumtamen homines me vocabunt late i)er orbem 

desiderabile vestimentum apud heroas. 

Non expavesco iaculationis terrorem timorose, 

quamvis promaiit sagittas hostiliter ex pharetris longis. 

Here are a few of Dr. Schluttcr's comments upon his readings. ' Line i. The 
doubtful letters after ueta I now find to be er&, the first letter being plainly visible. 
Line 2. What follows in the MS. after ,rrist is doubtful; with a little straining of 
the imagination one may be able to see ecc, but how the traces of the letters fol- 
lowing after can yield ;/</, seen by Sweet, passes my conjecture. Line 4. The first 
letter of lielurufi certainly looks like a clear case of b which was corrected by h 



154 KIDDLES OF Till': I'.XI'/li: R r.OOK 

writU'M over. To mc the recogni/able traces poiiU ratlier to nvn tlian to the (unit 
whiili rUiggers (Leiden librarian's transcript) doiilitfully ixliihils ; and hygidohta 
urn would seem to l)c not ill-fitting the context and a tine acknowledgment of the 
art of weaving. Line t;. Tiie second letter of wiiat you print //(■/,■,■ is ])lainly an (/. 
Line 6. As to ch;v</ [/]//;/ ,vvf/'/<((-, neither the MS. nor tlie sense seems to warrant 
the assumption of a / after </. 1 read &rL\iiiiii^i&rut- " jier pressuram (i.e. laborem) 
tortionis." .Xs to ////mt/ii///, the MS. evidence jilainly points to </■ as 3d letter, the 
6th letter may he <• or /', the letter following j)oints to </, and traces of an e follow- 
ing (but erased.') are visible. Line 8. It is impossible to say whether the reading 
is oiiiina or iitiiiiiii. Line 9. The ;■ of iivrdi- seems to be corrected to //. Line 1 1. 
Aftei I'll 1 ihiiil^ tlie copyist skipped an iTi = vion of the original. ;\s to Inidrir, 
the MS. li.is ajjparently liiu-tr,i\ i.e. Inicthiic. Line 14. I think there is great 
likelihooil that iiii>iu>i is really sujijiorted by MS. evidence. Also MS. evidence 
seems to point out as correct Rieger's conjecture flaiias. The first four letters are 
doubtful, but the last two can be pretty plainly made out as being us. Rieger's 
\^friuii\dlicc may be right. After <\><riiin 1 make out /,7/(.'), which seems to point 
to /ofij.no/i.' 

Since the above went to the printer. Dr. Schlutter has kindly sent me the ad- 
vanced sheets of his article 'Das Leidencr Riitsel ' (.•///;■■//</ XXXII, 3S4-3SS), 
which records his readings. 

Laid. 13-14. Dietrich (/'<• AV//. ./t/., p. 20) cites (7/r. 779 f.: 

Ne |>earf Iiin> ontlriT'ilan dooUa str:elas 

iiMiig on eor■^'an a-Ula cyntics 

griMiira p^flrfare, gif liiiii- (loil scililo|», etc. 

Leid. 13 aiid^f;;!! ml. Dietrich (/><• A'v/t. .Irt., p. 20) suggests a derivation of 
MS. iindi;ini from oiiPi^nian (oii?i>'iiniiiii), anil believes that the vowel eniling of 
the 1st person has been omitted before the postpositive /< . li. T.. ]>. 750, derives 
from the word o/rj^'-tin and proposes here a/idx// ltd, which finds ample support in 
/)<;//. 697, nc onegdon na orlegra nlN. — rt'risf**''**''' T'^*^ ^VS. equivalent earhfare 
appears six times in the poetry (Dietrich, I.e.): Clir. 762, Jul. 404, /•,"/. 44, It6, 
,///,/. 10. |t), Sal. 120. See Trautmann's interpretation of Kid. 65 [infra'). — ('jj;sau 
l>ro{«iim. t'f. (/'//. 122, broga egesllc. 



RIDDLE 87 

I must repeat the ciMitents of mv ni^te M.l.X. XVTT. pp. 102-103. Dietrich 
{^Iltuipts Zs. XI, 470-472), with his usu.il acumen, disco\ers in this riddle the use 
of 'secret script,' but he says nothing of tlie history of this kind of writing, nor 
does he seem to have known th.it it was often employed in mediaeval enigmas. 
Suetonius records (/>,- ]'ita ('iir.uDinn i, 50) tliat Julius C'.vsar employed in his 
familiar ei)istles a cipher formed by a consistent exchange of the letters of the 
alphabet; and that Augustus, too, used ' notae ' or secret writing (ii, SS) : 'Quo- 
tiens autem jier notas scribit r. pro a, c pro u ac deinceps eadem ratione sequentes 
litteras ponit.' Isidore, Bishop of vSeville (d. 636), in his widely read Origincs (i, 



NOTES 



155 



cap. 25), ascribes the use of this device {' iiotae htterarum ') to Hrutus and tlic 
two great Caisars, and quotes a letter from Augustus to Tiberius. Mention in so 
famous a textljook doubtless gave the script a vogue. Alcuin turns to account 
the method in giving the solutions of his ' I'ropositiones' (/'.Z. CI, 1145; see In- 
troduction), sometimes assigned to liude (/'./,. XC, 665) — e.g.. No. 26, cuNis 
)u: I'Ur.ii i.KPi'KKs — and a similar sul)stitution of consonants for preceding 
vowels appears in ihe answers to the riddles of the early tenth-century Keichenau 
MS. 205 (MiillenhoiT and Scherer, /-'^///■wri'/tv'*, 1892, p. 20). This enigmatic style 
of writing survived long, as its use in solutions by the anonymous author of 
Aciii};mata et Griplii Vetcrum ct Kcccittiinn (I)uaci, 1604) testifies. 

The secret script is used in introducing the Anglo-Saxon prose riddle (MS. 
Vitellius K. XVIII, i6b), which is printed l)y Wanley, Catabi;ite, p. 223, Mass- 
niann in Moiics .I/rz., i^T,], p. .23.S, (iicin, />//'/. II, 410, and Ffirster, JIcrri}:;s 
Arclnv CXV, 392, and solved by Dietrich XI, 4S9-490, CJrein, Gcrmaiiia X, 309, 
and Forster, Arc///'?' CXV 1, 367-371 (see my note to 44 14) : Nys |'ks frfgfn sylikc 
I'knc to ra'dfnnf (Nys ))is fregen sylllc I'inc to rjedenne). Upon the same page 
of the manuscript a])pears an Anglo-Saxon explanation of the system (Forster, 
/;■;/(.•/. St:u/. XXXVI, 325): 

b f k I) X 
a (■ i II 

a i' i o II 

Dis is qniiupie vocales ; mid hysum fif stafum man nuvg writan swa-hwa.'t-swa 
he wile. Hit is lytel crx'ft ; ac j'cah man m.x-g dwelian manega men mid a'gNer ge 
ware ge unware. Among the Latin examples that follow is one in Old Fnglish 
that reads like a riddle-formula : Cxnnb mbgf |>x Ijra^'dbn, hw;x:t |'ks mbgf l)fpn. 
Kc wfnf |>X't hkt nks fiSncdf (Cunna, mage jni arSdan, hwa;t )>is mage bton. Ic 
wene, |>a;t hit nis ciSricde). 

The script appears not infreciucnlly in glosses, Ijolh in Old luiglish {Kentish 
Glosses, WW., p. 87) and Old German {Haiipls As. XV, 35; XVI, 36, 94). It 
serves a useful purpose in the fifteenth-century puzzles of the /ironic Book, f. r, 
(Kerrison and Smilli, London, 18S6) and of the Sloane MS. 351, f. 15, (Wright and 
Ilallivvell, Rcliiiiiiae Aittitjttac II, 15). Compare A. Meister, Die Aiifiiiii:;c Jcr ?>io- 
derncti lUplomatisclicii Gcheimsclrrift, Paderborn, 1902, pp.5f. 

From the fourteen letters of the riddle, Dietrich (XI, 471-472), by several 
shiftings and substitutions, derives siii^ii vtiii V. ferliuvi, 'sow with five farrow.' 
This is a world-riddle, and has a famous history. I must refer to my note on 
Holme Kiddles, No. 53 {P.M. L. A., 1903, 258-259). Ohlert, pp. 38-39, marks its 
appearance in the A/e la tn podia of Ilesiod (Strabo xiv, 1, :.-j, \). 642), and points to 
the Icelandic parallel, I/ci&rcl-s Gd/itr, No. 12 ('sow with nine young'). Ileusler, 
Zs. d. V.f. Vk. XI, 1901, 1.(1-142, compares with the //. G. version Aldhelm vi, 
10; our Exeter Book problem ; and the modern riddles of the Faroes {Zs.f.d. M. 
Ill, 125) and Iceland {/sleiizkar Gdtur, Nos. 447, 448). Royal Riddle Book, Glas- 
gow, 1S20, p. 9, is very like Ilolme. Riddles with a similar theme are found in 
Hungary {Mai:;.fiir die Litt. des Aiislaiides, 1856, p. 364) and in the Tyrol (Kenk, 
Zs.d. V.f. I'k. V, 152, No. 76); and the Latin homonym of Keichenau M.S. 205, 
No. 6, (Miillenhoff and Scherer, Denkmdler^, p. 20) has a like motive. 



156 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

The closest analogue to Dietrich's interpretation of our riddle is that of Aid- 
helm, vi, lo, De Scrofa Praegnante. The first four lines of the Latin correspond 
exactly to the number -motive of the Anglo-Saxon : 

Nunc mihi sunt oculi bis seni in corpore solo, 
Bis ternumque caput, sed caetera membra gubernat, 
Nam gradior pedibus suffultus bis duodenis, 
Sed novies deni sunt et sex corporis ungues. 

Other Latin analogues are Symphosius 90 and Aldhelm i, 10, which have as 
their theme ' Mulier geminos pariens.' 

Thus far the strange forms of the monster of the riddle have been left unex- 
plained. There is a difficulty here, which Dietrich, I.e., meets with a not very 
plausible explanation: 'The bird in the second part of the riddle must now be 
discussed: it is only a continuation of the jest of the wing-ears and is still the 
sow, because the points of likeness with horse and woman which the bird is said 
to have are predicates of the subject in the first part. As the sow, on account of 
the mane, is a horse, so she is, on account of her womb, a w'oman, and, by reason 
of her snout and bite, like unto a dog.' 

This solution does not satisfy Trautmann, who suggests very doubtfully [Aitglia, 
Bl>. V, 49) that the secret words are merely Latin translations of the preceding 
Anglo-Saxon forms: 'homo,' 'mulier,' ' equus.' This view is confirmed by Ilolt- 
hausen, who believes {Etigl. Stud. XXXVH, 208) 'that we have to do with a 
corrupt transmission of the secret script, and that for /i.w. M., M .\. I. K.f.w f . . . 
q X X s we should read lipiit\p^ = hovio, mxlkfr = mulier, f . ■ . (jxxs = ei/uus.' 
Holthausen is unwittingly close to the MS., which Dietrich and Assmann have mis- 
read. Here at last is the obviously correct interpretation of the secret script. 
And in the light of this, Dietrich's solution loses its chief support, and must, I 
think, be abandoned. 

It is possible that the formula of closing in line 8 marks the end of our riddle, 
and that with For Jidd'ioegas (1. 9) a new problem is begun. If tliis be the case, we 
do not lack solutions. Dietrich, I.e., would then offer ' Fledermaus, ' changing, 
•with C^x(t\v\, Jlod-wcgds io fohhvegas; and Trautmann proposes • Das Schiff.' But 
it is not necessary to regard 37 g-14 as a separate riddle, since the traits of the ob- 
ject here correspond with those of the wight in 37 1-8. We can hardly do better 
than to extend to the whole problem Trautmann's solution of the latter part and 
interpret the monster as ' Ship ' or ' Boat.' 

This answer-meets the conditions of the enigma. The ship has ' four feet under 
its belly,' the four oars (compare ' the eight feet ' of the eight-oared craft in /. 6'. 
514), and 'eight above on its back,' those of the man, woman, and horse on its 
deck. It fares the floodways, and may well be compared to a bird (cf. Bcow. 218, 
And. 497, fugole gelTcost). The horse, man, dog, bird, and woman (37 11-12), of 
which it bears the likeness (i.e. which it carries), supply, if we add the ship's figure- 
head, the two wings, twelve eyes, and six heads (37 7-8). The phrase tu fihni may 
refer also to the ship's sails, and thus stress the likeness to a bird. 

374 ehtuwe. Thorpe suggested e/tiiif>e, translating 'eighth man'; Gn." «•///« 
wc- = e/itun tt't' (ehtan, eahtan, 'aestimare '). But, as Sievers shows Gr.^ 325.8, 



NOTES 157 

ehtiiwe is merely the Noithem form of the numeral 'eight' (R.-, Luke ii, 21, 
ahhnue). Ilolthausen {ICiii,^/. StinL XXXVII, 208) points out that elituwe must 
be construed with iifoji on hrycgc (1.6). The phrase thus parallels /tvey^r^ /<V 
under luomhe (1. 3). 

37 5-6 I depart from A.ssmann's reading by giving wiif to the fifth line and 
f liors qxx s to the sixth. 

379 For flodwegas. Cf. Exod. 106, foron flodwege ; Seaf. 52, on flodwegas 
feor gewitan ; El. 215, feran flodwege (MS. foldwege). 

37 13 Cf. And. 603, Miht )>u me gesecgan, \>-st\. ic soS wite ; Chr. 442, ba;t |>u 
soS wite (Ilerzfeld, p. 19). 

RIDDLE 38 

This riddle of the ' Bellows ' has nothing in common with Aldhelm's enigma 
of like topic (i, 13), but in its 'life and death' motive conforms closely to Sym- 
phosius 73 (infra). It is a variant of 87, and in some motives it presents points 
of likeness to Riddles 19 and 34. The many ' Bellows ' problems of different 
languages have small resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon : Sirassb. Rb. 209 ; Apol- 
lonius of Tyre 4 (Schrbter, Mitt, der deiitsch. Gesellsc/i. ziir Erforsch. der vaterl. 
Spr. und Alt. V, 1S72, p. xiv) ; Reusner I, 188, 287; /. G. 195, 726, 860, 925, 
1 1 52; and the English riddles {Azotes and Queries, Dec. 16, 1865). 

Dietrich (XI, 472) first suggested 'Wagon,' but arrived soon (XII, 238 note) 
at the answer ' Bellows,' which no one has questioned. 

In Cotton MS. Claudius B. IV, f. 10, we find an illustration of Tubal-Cain at 
work at the forge assisted by an attendant with bellows (Tubalcain se waes asg^er 
ge gold smi'5 ge Tren smi^) and in Harl. MS. 603, f. 6 v., two figures at a smithy, 
one with hammer and tongs (see also Ccedmon Met. Par. Ixix ; Horda vii, 3, 
xxxii, 9). Akerman in his Remains of Pagan Saxondom, 1855, p. 61, discusses the 
high repute in which the smith was held, and cites the will of Eadred giving lands 
to /Elfsige, his goldsmith {Codex Diploinaticus III, 431 ; cf. VI, 211). Compare 
The Crafts of Men, 61-66 : 

Sum mxg wiCpenJrSge wige to nytte 
m6dcra;ftig smiS iiionige gefremman, 
Jjonne he gewyrce'5 to wera hilde 
helm o'SSe hupseax oS'Se hea'Subyrnan, 
sclrne mece oj^Jje scyldes rond, 
faeste gefegan wi^ flyge gares. 

In a passage of the De Laudibus Virginitalis (cited by Sharon Turner VII, 
chap, xi), Aldhelm describes 'the convenience of the anvil, the rigid hardness 
of the beating hammer, and the tenacity of the glowing tongs.' 

The craft of the smith is extolled in .'Elfric's Colloquy, WW. 99: ' Se' smi|> 
secgS : hwanon [|>am yrHinge] sylanscear o)'J'e culter )>e na gade haef)) buton of 
crasfte minon : hwanon fiscere ancgel (hamus) q\>\>q sceowyrhton SI o\>\>& seamere 
nSdl nis hit of mInon geweorce.'. . . And the Consiliarius answers: ' Jju hwaet 
sylst us on smiH'an l<Inre buton Tsenne, fyrspearcan and swegincga beatendra 
slecgca and blawendra byliga (flantium follium).' For a discussion of the status of 



158 KIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

the smith and of the appearance of his name in Anglo-Saxon liteiaturo, see Kliinip, 
Alteiiglische Ilaiuhvcrknameu, pp. 32-35, 97-104. 

Andrews says, Old Eii}:;lish Manor, p. 276: ' 'I'he tools which thoy (the .Anglo- 
Saxons) employed were oumbroiis and reciuired nuuh time and labor to satis- 
factorily use them. This I'ynewidf indirectly tells us in his ritldle of the bellows, 
for while Aldhelm, fioni whom he copied, had laid special stress upon the metal 
adornment, the artistic work, Cynewulf, more familiar with the Saxon bellows 
as the smith used them, lays his emphasis upon the strength which was needed 
by the man who attended the blowing. This would point to a ruder instrument 
and the need of greater muscular exertion.' The argument has small force. 

38 1 ,1 (dmpaie the other bellows riddle, 87 1-3. See also 193, wide wombe, 
89 -• wilil wombe ha'fil . . . 

38 I .\diltiiult p.issage. Thorpe proposes, in his note, /j7/;''</t:';^ Grein, in the note 
to his text, /<■/</<•; Dietrich (XI, J^-J2) J,i7r /lis fi/lfJ Jlea/i f>i'rh /lisi-ai^Y. C.rein, 7 V<7//., 
renders thus: 'wo seine Fullung(?) flog durch sein Auge.' Rut Dietrich retracts 
(XII, 238, note): ' Eigen ist der mitfolgende diener und zugleich sohn des blase- 
balgs, es ist der durch sein auge entschliipfende wind, er floh da man es (v. 4, das 
ding) fallte, d. h. niederdriickte.' One very serious objection to Dietrich's second 
rendering is that nowhere in the KidJU-s is the object indicated by the neuter 
pronoun, but always is regarded as a person, — man or woman. Here it is mascu- 
line, while in the companion problem (87) it is feminine. ////, then, is either a 
corruption or refers to something else than the riddle subject. As there is no pos- 
sible antecedent, I believe that a reconstruction of the line is demanded. Dietrich's 
first suggestion is probably not far from the truth : li is filled (probably yV/Zc; see 
43 5) /'''■'"'' hii'h lii'^ ''"gi^ refers, of course, to the contents of the bellows, the wind, 
which is 'blown through the eye' (cf. Rid. 876 bleow on cage). The 'much ac- 
complishment' {iiiiic-l . . . xt-fp/rd) of the /ic'x'i indicates just such labor as that in 
A'/</. 87 4-5. With our passage compare the lines in 77u- Crafts cf Men (cited supra). 

38 5-7 Here the riddler closely follows Symphosius 73 1-2: 

Non ego coiitiiuu) lUdrior, cum sjiiritus exit ; 
Nam redit assitliie, ciiianivis et saepc recetlit. 

387 bliT'd bi]> ilra-rod. Cf. Ih-o-i'. 1703, bla5d is ilrcured. The riddler is of 
course playing \\\\o\\ the double meaning of /'/,7(/, 'breath' and 'prosperity.' So 
Symphosius plays upon 'spiritus' in his ' Violet ' enigma (No. 46). 

388 This motive is that of the world-riddle of Ice, discussed under 34.1-M. 
Prehn, p. 211, compares .Symphosius 7 3, J-'hiiiks: ' Et cjui me genuit, sine me non 
nascitur ipse.' 

RIDDLE no 

The sources of this riddle of the ' \'oung Hull' have received sufficient dis- 
cussion under Rid. 13. 

39 1-3 Grein and Wiilker put no mark of punctuation after '.fiepiudcyinics, but 
a colon after ^i,"/'!?;//!,'-. How then \f. p-icdit:: to be construed.' Grein, Dicht., makes 
the adjective cpialify rc'/7// (ace), but grammar forbids. Ihooke, K. E. Lit., p. 146, 



NOTES 159 

supplies 'was.' 'Of the gladness of youth was he greedy.' It is far better to 
close line i with a semicolon, and then regard gri^di}^ as qualifying the subject 
oi forli't, that is, the V'oung Bull itself. Grein, Dicht., commits the mistake of 
rendering ftr&fril>i-niie as ' Der Hefrieder der Geister ; ' so also Brooke ' The 
Defender of Being.' In Spr. I, 282, Grein corrects his error by translating the 
word as ace. pi. with wellan, ' vitam servantes,' which corresponds to Thorpe's 
and B.-T.'s 'life-saving.' The passage may thus be rendered: ' I saw a creatuie 
of the weaponed kind; greedy of youth's gladness, for a gift unto himself, he let 
four life-saving fountains brightly spring,' etc. 

39 3 fcrflfrliiVciKl*' feo^ve^ ^velIaIl. Compare ih&fi'muer s^vicse />rd/>or of 72 5-6. 
The Udders appear often in riddle-poetry. I have already referred under /\'/V/. 13 
to Aldhelm iii, 1 1 2, ' Bis binis bibulus potum de fontibus hausi,' and Eusebius 37, 
'ab uno fonte rivos bis . . . binos,' and to other Latin enigmas with this theme. 
One of the best known of world-riddles is that of the ' Cow,' with the motif ' Vier 
hangen, vier gangen ' (Wossidlo, No. 165), found in all countries. Compare, too, 
Jfolme Kiddks, No. 36, ' Klink flank under a bank 10 about 4,' and the several 
analogues. 

394 on g«'s«'oap ]7eotan. B.-T., ji. 1053, says 'The passage describes a calf 
sucking from its mother; \i hcolan is an infinitive [the word is found in the sense 
of "howl," Met. 2680] it must refer to the sound made by the milk coming from 
the teat, but perhaps gesccap-hi'ote may be a compound noun meaning the teat.' 
Jicote is 'a pipe or channel through which water rushes.' B.-T.'s first e.xplanation, 
which corresponds to the rendering of Grein, Diclit., ' nach Geschick tosen ' {Spr. 
II, 589, ' prorumpere cum strepitu'), seems to me preferable, for the comj^ound 
suggested is not enigmatic. On gesceap is not found elsewhere, but its meaning 
is obvious (contrast 73 6, \\\\> gesceape). The riddler, here as elsewhere, may be 
slyly delighting in the double meaning of his word. 

396-7 llerzfeld (pp. 29, 44), who believes that the last two lines are taken 
word for word from Eusebius (see however my notes to Rid. 13) says: ' Es ist 
lehrreich zu verfolgen wie in den Riitseln Abhangigkeit vom Original mit tech- 
nischem Ungeschick Hand in Hand geht.' Holthausen remarks, Engl. Stud. 
XXXVTI, 208: 'Die 3 zeilen sind offenbar prosa, hochstens ein spater versuch, 
ohne kenntnis der technik alliterierende verse zu machen.' This statement is too 
strong, although the lines are admittedly slovenly. The metrical stress and allit- 
eration both fall upon the pronoun me (5b), which logically is (juite unstressed; 
but, as llerzfeld points out, examples of stressed pronouns are found elsewhere 
in the poetry — no less than seven in Juliana (see Schubert, De Anglo-Saxonitm 
Arte Metrica, Berlin, 1870, p. 10). See Rid. 41 86, Nis under me ( X _L | X _1), 48 i, 
66 s, 6, 73 2, etc. Half-lines of shortened A-type (_1 X | v5 X ) 'il^e 6 b, 7 b, are found 
in the Riddles (Herzfeld, pp. 44, 49). .\nd confusion of gender {/lio, lie) is not 
uncommon (see 24 7, 25 7). 

396'^ Barnouw (p. 214) would regard seo 7i>ilit as an addition of the scribe, and 
read gif Jiio gedyge& (cf. 39 7'^, gif he tobirsteS). ' This would prevent the poor 
alliteration produced by the chief stress falling upon the verb instead of upon the 
noun.' But the lines are careless; and the juxtajiosition of si'o wilit goes far to 
explain the feminine form of the pronoun liio in this line. 



l60 RIDDLES OF TUV. I'-.XKrKR HOOK 

Kini)!,!'. 4(1 

To this riddle Dietrich (XI, 472) offers the answer 'Day,' 'which is proverbial 
for its poverty ' (compare line 14), and points to the A'/t///\- Pocitt, 74-7O : 

Oii'g bi^" drihtnes sond, deoro ni;inmini, 
nuT're metodes leoht, myrgiN and tohiht 
eadguni and earinum, ealluni bryce. 

Prehn, j). 27=;, shows that the wanderings of the Day have been snggested in 
Riii. 30, and that its poverty is opposed to the costly garment of Night, described 
in Kid. 12. He notes, too, that the contrasts of this problem put it in the same 
class as the one of Creation {Kid. 41). Trautmann {^Afiglia, Bb. V, 49) proposes the 
solution 'Time.' I am inclined to regard Kid. 40 not as a query of 'Day' or 
'Time,' but as a 'Moon' riddle like Kid. 95. The first lines correspond closely 
to those of the later problem, and the especial power of the Moon is extolled in 
both poems (40 3-4, 10, 21-J2, 95 7-in). Like the Moon in Kid. 30. no and 95 3'', the 
subject is a wretched exile and wanders widely (40^-10,10-17); and, as in the 
closing lines of the other riddles, his future lot is obscure (4022-24). Even his 
silence (40 12) suggests 95 o-io. 40 7, nc hi& IiJo nicfre nilit J>icr d/>rt; might seem 
at first sight more apj^licable to the Sun, but what words could better describe 
the changing positions of the Moon? Dietrich brings no proof that 'the Day 
is proverbially poor'; on the contrary, Liining shows {Die A'<i(i/r, Hire Aiiffassitug 
mid poetische I'er'weiidtotg in dcr altgerinaitisclien mid iiiittellioclideiitsclicn K/>i/c, 
Ziirich, 1SS9, p. 54) that in the old Oermanic epic ' Der Tag mit seinent (llanze 
erfreut die TIerzen der Menschen und beherrscht gleichsam die Lebewelt, daher 
heisst er '• riche " ' (Hagen, Mimtesinger i, 163, riche also der tac ; i, 127 b, ii, 
23 b, der tac will gerlchen). Hut the epithet earinost, 40 14. exactly tits the Moon, 
who has no light save that taken from the Sun {Kid. 30, 95); and even that is 
often lost. 

40 1. 1,1 s'^writu scfsai'V. So Gen. 1 121, 1630, 2563, 261 1, /,7. 674, /'//. 313, 655 
(see also daebler, .-hig/ia III, 312). The only other appeal to sources in the 
Kidd/es is immediately above in 39 5 ; but in that case the popular origin of the 
passage was easily traceable. The reference here is to the many scientific works, 
such as Bede's De .Vdtioa Kermii, which make the Moon tlie center of tlieir 
knowledge (see under 95). 

40 2 See 95 2, ond reste oft ricum ond heanuiii {.Moon). 

40 3 s\veotol ond gcsyiie. So 144; see my note to that passage. No phrase 
could be better suited to the Moon. — siiiidorrra-fl. Tliis special power of the 
Moon, ' far greater than men know,' is the influence over the tides discussed by 
Aldhelm in his ' Moon ' enigma (i, 6) : 

Nunc ego cum pelago fatis coninimiilnis insto 
Tempora reciprocis convolveiis nionstnia cyclis. 

40 5 geseoaii siiiulor. Cf. J-'/. 407, sundor asecaiN; lOH), sundor ixsecean. 

40(1'' Cf. AV./. 30 10, gewat hyre west |>onan {Smi)\ ll'o/id. 6S-69, gewiteS . . . 
forSmSre tungol faran {S1//1) ; Sd/. 503, gewiteS l>onne wepende on weg faran. 
Ge'U'dt fcraii is a common idiom {Spr. 1, 484). 



NOTES l6l 

40 lof. The contrasts suggest 41, and the negatives 33 5 f. — fot lie foliii. Cf. 
2815, fota ne folma ; 327, fcl oncl ftilnie ; 68';, fet nc f [olme] ; />V(W. 745, fet 
ond folma. 

40 16-17 The clause is admirably suited to the wanderings of the Moon (95 3, 
fere wide). Compare MS. Hern. 611, 593 (Luna): 

Quotidio currens vias per.iiiilnilo nuiltas 
Et bis iterate cunctas recurro per aniuim. 

40 19 iiionKtnn to frofre. The Sun also comforts many, 7 6-7. The comfort 
of the Moon's presence is the theme of 95 7-9. 

40 20 It certainly seems inapt to say of the Moon that ' it never touched the 
heavens'; but note that here heofonmn is not used of the firmament, but is op- 
posed to lielle, and therefore means 'the abode of bliss.' Moreover, as lines 21- 
22 show, the riddler is speaking of the Moon's long life through the lore of the 
King of Cilory. The line is merely a 'check' to the solution, and is well calcu- 
lated to mislead the too literal victim. 

40 24 ^voh wyrda K»'sceapii. Cf. Sal. 332, gewurdene (Cin.-gewundene) wyrda; 
Met. 4 40, hwl sio Wyrd swa wo wendan sceolde. 

40 26* There is no occasion for the changes proposed by Ilolthausen (see text). 
If we read ivihte for wilit (the forms are used interchangeably, 38 1, 39 i), we 
have a first half-line of expanded A-type (_^ X X X X | _£.x ). For stress upon 
}>dra, compare 41 89^, )>ara be worhte. 

40 27* Examples of B-type with alliteration on second stress of first half-line 
are so rare that I change the editors' ieitig Urn to Urn ienig. The reconstructed 
line presents no metrical difficulty. Cf. 41 16^. 



RIDDLE 41 

As Dietrich has clearly pointed out (XI, 455), this most extensive of all the 
riddles is a fairly close rendering of Aldhelm's enigma, De Creatura (Cr.). llerz- 
feld shows, p. 27, that the poet sets aside classical allusions and expressions and 
replaces them by those current among his countrymen, thus giving, after Cyne- 
wulf's manner, national coloring to his presentation (Ebert, AUi^emeine Gesch. der 
Lit. des Mittelalters III, 54): Cr. 14, ' olfactum ambrosiae ' is discarded; Cr. 21, 
' Tonantis ' is replaced by lieahcyuiug, Cr. 22, ' tetra Tartara ' by wom 7vrd&- 
scrti/it , and. Cr. 2,3, 'more Cyclopum' by ealdinn hyrse\ Cr. 35, 'Zephiri' is ex- 
plained, 41 68-69; and Cr. 67, ' Phoebi radiis ' cries a halt. Prehn also comments, 
p. 213, upon our riddler's consistent effort to Germanize and Christianize Ald- 
helm's matter. 

Ilerzfeld, p. 28, notes that both Rid. 36 and Rid. 41 are distinguished by the 
circumstance that 'die metrische Gliederung mit der syntactischen ganz zusam- 
menfallt, wahrend sonst die Kegel besteht dass beide sich kreuzen ' (see Rieger, 
Zs. f. d. Ph. VII, 45). For this reason we find in these two problems 'very 
little of that variation from sources which fills out a verse and leads to new 
thoughts.' 



l62 RlDI)Li;S OF TME EXETER BOOK 

Dk Cki:ati-k.\ (Aklhclm) 

Conditor, aeternis fulsit qui saecia coluniiiis, (1-2) 

Rector legnoiiim freiums et fulmina lege, (},-■]) 

I'endula duni patiili veituntur culniina iiiundi, (5) 

Me vaiiam fecit, prinio diim condeiet orbem. ((>-") 

5 IVivigil excuijiis nuiKiuam doimire juvabit, (S-i;) 

Sed tumen exteniplo claiidimtur hiniina somno. (10-11) 

Nam Deus iit propria nuindum ditione gubernat, (12-13) 

Sic ego complector sub cex-li cardine ciincta. (14-is) 

Segnior est nullus, quouiani me larvula terret, (lO-i;) 

10 Setigero rursus constans audacior apro. (18-iy) 

Nullus me superat cupiens vexilla triumphi, (20-21) 

Ni Deus aethiali suuimus qui regnat in arce. (21-22) 

I'rorsus odorato thure fragrantior halaus, (23-24) 

Olfactum ambrosiae, necuon crescentia glebae ) , „. 

• (-4~2S) 

13 1 .ili.i piirpureis possum connexa rosetis ) 

\iiK'i.'re, spiiautis nardi dulcediiie plena. (2(^-30) 

Nunc olida coeni squalentis sorde putresco. (31-32) 

C)mnia quaeque polo sunt subter et axe reguntur, ( 

Dum pater arcitenens concessit, jure gubemo. I ■^■' ' 

20 (irossas et graciles rerum comprenso liguras. (3<'-37) 
Altior en caelo rimor secreta Tonantis (3S-39) 
Et tamen inferior terris tetra Tartara cerno. (40-41) 
Nam senior nuindo praecessi tenipora prisca ; (42-43) 
Ecce tamen matris horna generabar ab alvo. (44-45) 

25 I'ulchrior auratis dum fulget fibula bullis; (4(1-47) 
Ilorritlior rhamnis, et spretis vilior algis. (4S-49) 
l.atioi' rn p.itulis tiMraruni tiiiibus exsto, (50-51) 
l*".t tanuMi in nii-dia concludor parte pugilli. (52-53) 
Frigidior brumis, necnon candente pruina, (54-55) 

30 Cum sim X'ulcani flammis torrentibus ardens. (56-5;) 

DiiUioi in p.ilato quam lenti nectaris haustus, (5S-51)) 

Uirior et rursus quam glauca absinthia campi, (60-61) 

Mando dapes mordax lurcorum more Cyclopum, (62-63) 

Cum possim jugiter sine victu vivere felix ; (64-65) 

•55 Plux iiernix aquilis, Zepliiri velocior alls 1 

». . . . , (()(>-69) 

Necnon accipitre properantior, et tamen lionens ) 

I.umbricus et limax et tarda testudo palustris (70-71) 

Atque timi suboles sordentis cantharus ater (72-73) 

Me dicto citius vincunt certamine cursiis. (70, 73) 

40 Sic gravior plumbo scopulorum pondera vergo ; (74-75) 
Sum levior pluma ccdit cui tippula lymphae. (76-77) 
Nam silici densas fundit quia viscere tlammas ) __ 

Purior aut ferro, (tostis sed mollior extis). I 
jVo e<piir(ilc>i/ in Liithi. (So-Si) 

61 Senis ecce plagis latus qua penditur orliis \ 
I'lterior multo tendor mirabile fatu. 1 '" 

Infra me suprave nihil per saecula constat, (86-89) 
Ni rerum genitor mundum sermone coercens. (81^-91) 

65 Crandior in glaucis quam ballena tluctibus atra (92-94) 
Et minor exiguo sulcat qui corpora verme. (95-97) 



NOTES 163, 

44 Concinnos capitis nam cesto caciimine nuUos, / „ 

. / (9S-101) 
Ornent qui frontcm ponipis et tempora setis; ) 

Cum mihi caesaries volitent de vertice crispne, I , . 

. ' 1 (102-104) 
I'lus calamistratis se comunt quae calamistro. ) 

I'iiiKuior en multo scrofarum exungia glesco, 1 

, , , . } (105-106) 

Cllandiferis iterum referunt dum corpora fagis ) 

50 Atque saginata laetantur carne subulci. (107) 

It has already been noted that in the rendering of A'/</. 36 from Aldhehii iv, 3, 
Lorica, two lines of the Anglo-Saxon correspond to one of the Latin. This 
method of translation is followed in the Englishing of (';■. l)y the poet of A'i(/. 41, 
save only in a few places (41 5, 24-28, 33-35, 66-69). ''"l when line 43 of the Latin is 
reached, conies a violent change (41 79). Cr. 43, ' tostis sed mollior extis,' is entirely 
disregarded in 41 s<.-8i, lines which have no Latin eciuivalent. Cr. 61-66 becomes 
the basis of the lines that follow in the English version. As Dietrich has suggested 
{De K'yti. Act., p. 25) to explain the departure from the Latin sequence, perhaps 
another and earlier version of Aklhelm than that now extant is followed by our 
riddler. This view is amply supported by a similar change of sequence in A'/V. 36 
(supra), by the unfixed order of traits in other Latin riddles of nearly the same 
period (Bern MS. 611, Nos. 5, 9, 18, 22, 24, 57, 58), by the probable relation of 
Kid. 41 80-81 to a different text from the one before us, and by the isolation of Cr. 
61-66 from the lines that precede and follow. 

Yet this explanation is not sufficient to account for three things : (<?) the com- 
plete change in the method of translation ; (/') the errors of rendering that now 
abound in the English version ; (<) the appreciable weakening of technique in 
the later part of the English riddle. (</) The translator no longer renders each 
line of the Latin by two of English: Cr. 61-62 is interpreted by 41 82-S5, Cr. 63 
by 41 86-89, Cr. 6.| l)y 41 89-91, Cr. 65 by 41 92-94, Cr. 66 by 41 95-97. {b) Mistrans- 
lations now abound : 41 83 is inspired by a total misunderstanding of 'senis plagis ' ; 
41 85 is too freely rendered from ' mirabile fatu ' ; 41 S6-87 conveys an idea exactly 
opposite to 'infra me '; 41 91 has no warrant in Cr. 64; 41 92-94 is a very free ver- 
sion of Cr. 65; and 41 96-97 in its relative clause exactly inverts the meaning of 
Cr. 66. {c) The technique is wretched : 41 84 is defective, and 41 86^, 88', are faulty 
in the weakness of the stressed syllables; and the construction of 4186-88 is 
awkward and ambiguous. 

So much for the translation of Cr. 61-66 by Rid. 41 82-97. We are then carried 
back to Cr. 44 ; yet the translation proceeds not after the old system, but after the 
new. Cr. 44-45 is rendered by 41 98-101, Cr. 46-47 by 41 102-104, Cr. 48-49 by 
41 105-106, Cr. 50 by 41 107. The first four lines of the Latin are rendered with 
great freedom, *and the sense of Cr. 50 is completely lost in 41 107. 

No one will deny, I think, that the translator of Aldhelm in 41 1-79 is the same 
person as the translator of Aldhelm in Kid. 36. Not only are these riddles the 
only literal renderings from Aldhelm in our collection, but in both the same 
peculiar method is employed. Now is it conceivable that this English reworker 
of Latin material, proceeding steadily by an already tested system for some eighty 
lines, would suddenly divest himself of his successful method ? Furthermore, is it 
possible that his rendering, which has hitherto been fairly accurate — for, with the 



164 



KiDDi.i.s ()!■ Til I'. i;.\i: ii:k hook 



C'Xi f|)l imi ol llir 111)1(11 inns /■,■/ >i<\\ (41 i.i), liis (lc|i.ii 1 111 1's (miu liis 01 i!;in,il .11 r llic 
icsiill (il iiil ciil ii vn, iKil (il iiMuii.iiui' w iMild siuKlcnlv lic< (line i;l. II iiirjv \v<'.ik .111(1 
l.nill\ ' I (.iiiiiiil i((iiiiiilc Mil 11 ( 11. HUM'S .IS llirsc willi llic |iirs(iiii' nl lull .1 
siii);lc I I. III'. I. il 1 11 III /\ ,',:'. ^ I . 

N(l\\ IS 1 1 111. I 1 11.1 II- KM .1111.1 I >lc 111 I 11- lie vc lli.il llic lUir.ill.ll I i.iiisi.ildi ( /) 1 iuscil 

ills wmlv .il A lilliclin's liiil\ lliiiil line .1 \(i\' I'lmd I ci nim.i I ii 'ii, Im iicic is llic 
cud (il .1 lull;' line I'l 1 1 niip.i 1 .il l\ cs .iiid lli.il A'/,/. 41 S. ,1; 1 rpi csmls llic iciidcl 
iiii'_ ol ( '• 111 (ill In .mill lie I w lilci ( /•') I.I 1 111 I CI in I ill iiicl liiul .mil k imwlcdi'c, \\ lio 
sii|ililciiiciilcil Ills uniU liy .111 ci|ii.ill\ l.iiillv 1 i.msl.il iuM (( ') ul (>. .|.| yi, the 
lic\l lines III Ills lc\l (ij .Mdhcliu :' 

A sccmiiij', iili|i 1 I inn In lliis llicuiy is ic.dly slioiit;!)' in its l.ivdi. in ils plii.i 
Hooloj.'y A' owes iimi II 111 / I II ij 1 ;. ■ S), i Inscncss to llic I ,.i( in is s.u 1 ill 1 cd in mdci 

It) IC)mullU c 41 ■,.. ,1 ; 41 N| is \ CI V siiiiil.ii 11141 , 1 ; 41 n I ci .ills 41 •.. • 1 , 41 .)|'' 

i.s rxailly in llic lu.mnci nl 41 ■!.'', -s'' ; .md 41 ,, , cinpInN s llic idiniii nl 41 .si, 1.... I till 
i.s this liol llic indclilcdnc ss nl Ihc wc.ik ( (iiiliim.iliM, wlm Luis nl nicllind .md 
kli(i\vlcdi;c, lull w 111" icpc.ils plii.iscs .11 ihc (dsl nl lulclily In 1ns l.iliii niii-in.iP 

My line nl le.isniiiii); is siisl.micd |iy .1 vciv \.ilii.ililc Ml nl c\ idciu c llic 
«'xislciuc nl .mnllici ycisinn nl 41 S.-,,; (/■'), A'/./, by. |)icliiili (\ll, .■;s) w.l.s 
Winiij; in 1 ei-.ii diiir, lliis .is .mnllici 1 1 .msl.il inn nl i'l. (H dd; llei.lcld, pp. (1 7, 
\v.is (piilc .IS nun II Ml ci ini when lie deemed il .1 lu c.il ly i nndciiscd Ini in ol A';,/'. 41 . 
'lliis lilllc pneiii ol liii lines displ.i\s no knn\\led;',c nl Use cillici nl Aldllelm's 
I..Uii\ 1)1 (il t (.)! 1 Si) Il IS .1 ici.islmi; nl scyci.il idc.is in llic /•' poitlon \yilii a 
few oii^in.il .iddilmns .md iiilci pnl.il inns : 67 1 is li.iscd upon 41 .s.- ; 67 -•" liixks its 
soilli (■ in 41. J, .)(• (llic use nl '■;,■',■,,'■,, 'I' w slinws lli.il /•' .ind nnl ( '' . (ili is heroic 
tlic \yiilci); O7 •'' 1' li.is no cipiix.ilcnl in llic I .iliii ni AindoS.ixon; 67 1'' '; ' is 
pcill.ips .1 vci\ 1 mil leic lesli.ipmi', nl 41 S|, .md (17 ,'' ; ' nl 41 Si. S., (llic I cscnil il.llu c 
In 41 I.s I" ni.iy I"' i niiu idem c) ; nl 1)7;'' i.> llicic is iin sii:;l',csI inn in L.ilin nl 
Aiii;lo .S.ixnn. Tlic ]iinlilcni spc.iks slinnidv in l.nni ol llic view lli.il Iwn li.mds 
\\ cie ,il w nl k in A'...'' 4 1 ; .md 1 1 1.1 1 llic s(s nnd l.ilci I'.iv c I icei Ini in In his iii.il i 1 i.il. 

In ihe 1 \i Ic nl 41 .md (17 lielmn's llic li.i!>,inenl 04. willi ils seiics nl 1 nnip.iii 
suns, lull, .IS niily \('Slii;cs nl lliis leni.iin, il is impossililc lo csl.ililisli c\.ul 
icl.il ions. 

I li.ive iiii Indisl ill ni\- I niiuncMls upon Ihis liddle .1 lew nl I lie ;;lnsscs di.nyii 
I mill I w 11 in.uuisi I ipis nl A Idlielin's cnii'in.is : M .S. ( '.iiiilu id:;e l' iii\ . 1 ,il>l . ( "i;^. \' , 
is, I. 1 1 '(■((■) .md MS. Kns.il I •, C. \\ 11 I, I. in- I'. (K). llic kn-lish -losses In 
Imlli .lie piinlcd l>y N.ipiei ,( '.',,■' /'.•;_■. '.m v (/Am.i.m, I()00, pp. iiji U).', 11)3, ami the 
1 .Hill I'losscs ol Ihc scioiid In Wiirjil, S.i/ir/,;i/ /W/s ,</ f/i,- 7\<'c//t/i Cfiiiiny, 
Rolls Sci ies, iS;-, II, s'lM^"""'' "' these 1 h.wc di.nyn dilertlvfioni tlic in.mn 
siiipl, wheic W'lij'.hl oniils 01 piinls iii.u 1 ni.ilcU ). Ihe l.iliii i'.los'-.iioi in K 
thus inl I nihil cs ihc ('■,•,.•.'.■/ •,.' : ' I >i\ ci sil .is i 1 e.il 111 ,11 iiin di\ ci sil.il e Iniiiliniiis in 
isl.i scnienli.i (isiciidil III Ac pcisnnis niimihiis el n.iluiis uiiiiisi n jiisipic i ic.iliii.ic 
inlci nini i.iles el iini\eis.\ xisihili.i el in\ isihih.i .' 

The 1 iddlc siihii 1 I is nnl ol lixcd ''.ciidci, hill is now in.iseulinc, nn\y Icin 
ininc. This is sninew li.il smpiisim;, .is , •,■.;,■■,•,■.; .md /■,■/".• .1 ,.■..• '.' .lie hnlh lelii. 
nouns, lull, .IS 1 li.uc .dic.uh imlcd. ihcic is lilllc insislciuc upon ci.muu.il ii .d 
{;ciulci in the A'/. ;'./.'. m ; .md in this i asc ihc suhjci I is hcyniid hnimds nl sex. 



NOII'.S r65 

III addition to various ciiois in liaiislatioii, ( cilaiii lines of our vcision aie iiicl 
riially weak oi ini|)ril<i l, .•.(, 7 J a, S.|, 86, 87, 101. In ni.iny 1 jscs (lie .11 < cnt (alls 
t»ii iinlnipoilant words, particularly <in ptMHonal pronouns: j.i, ,jc;, 75, SS, Ki;, rtc. 

41 / I supply 7< '<•(//(//■/. Hot only bctaiisc wn')S\sliil,iiiii wcnlilcl, KtprodnccH Cr. 1, 
' fidsit . . . 1 oliininis,' l)ul hnausu tlio formula liciiliif& oiid ioi-<iltlc& appears in 
41 ■;, -•,• in lliis lonlexl. Sec :ilso /V. 7 5 i,, wealdeiN and liealdcvN; 12:; 1, Ixrahh^sl 
and wcaldesi; Aihl. J.'t;!". Iie.ildind mid we.ddind. i\'<-,ililiiii ni.iy /;ovein accusa- 
tive (A//. II. ri/o). 

41 1 III. riii^.dil !(•}.',, lids iiinoiililii as yyw. |d. ( iiiKo.ild): it '.renr, lo inr .1 num. 
in .ippo.silioii to ( y II I Hi; ( J), < 1. ( in . din, ec iic mi we. dd, in eali.i j-im e:i I l.i. 

41 5'' Sic vers {/'/!/>'. XII, l V/) ie|'.lld'. Ilii\ .r. .m ex.nnple o( I lie ' sell w'idlvciS ' 
(hcc 17 \ n). Iluliad previously eliali|',ed (/'/.' /.'. \, yo) MS. r/i',/ /ir yinh l„h iitdii 
fntifor/'i'& to .iri'(/ ///• /niii:or/r& ym/i />tl\. 

41 I'. <'f. .III,/. .|'i,|, .Sjo, oiNNa't lile (liiiie) seniliili|':i slap oleieode (lleiz 
feld, p. I.,). 

41 i.( ir;{ll\va>r. This word is used in our riddle seven lime . a-. .1 piddinj', (cf. 
41 ''^i ("1 (7. V't '"), '^-')i '"d <l"''^ ""' .ipp'-ii elscrvvlli'ie in I lie < . pIIim limi 

41 I'.' 'I'lli; M.S. /(< /,('// hliUiiV is niel 1 i( ally nlijei I imiMlile, M) I iiiveil as in le\| 
with I lei/leld, \\. 51. 

41 1/ {{I'inill. 'I'lie wold, wliiili i'. elsewlieie usi'd liolli :e. • implex and ( mil 
Jioiiiid ill I lie sense o( ' nia'.k ' (' lielmel '), a p| lear. Iieie \\ il li I lii' liie;iiiiii|' 'slier 
III' 'l,.iivill.i' (("/, <)), uliic II 111.- \\..ld liair.l.lles, i'. llin. e x | il.iineij |iy Ihc 

Latin glossator in l< : ' l.aivas v.\ lioniinilnis la< las aiiinl, i|ui meiiij nLiJi Iniiinl, 
(piarnni esse diiilui lenere parvuIoH, ct in anf^ulis j-aiiiie leiielm 1 i. ' Willi ihe 
Old I'aiylisli iiieainn),;s of .//;•////(/ wcHind strikiii).; paiallel. in I lie < M(Mi.iie laii|;ua).',cH. 
(•riintn, Tciiloiiic Mvtlioltirv, p. in,|i;, ]>oiiils oiil thai in < ). N. (iiiiihi appeals as ;i 
nanio of a sorceress, and I h.il ' I he adipl in niafi;ii: assumed a m.ek , ;/ ////,/ (p • j'l), 
a (ro//s/lillll, by which he made hinr.ell iiiiiei ojniiiralile, and wiiil iir.liiii|; lliimijdi 
the air, as spirits also piil on ^^iindurlnis, helidhelm, (p. .pi;); nlien v\e see ihi; 
notion of Hortere.HH and thai of nnnk nieei in one, line, in Ihe lomh.iid /.i\<;rs 
Uof/iiiri^, 197, .379, " .i///.;./, ipind ('.l iii,i\,,i."' Ivveii in l;mii.iii I ime ., /,// /v/ is used 
as liotii ///i/i/-and s/>fitn- (see l/(ii/<cr's l.nliii Ph limidi v, s.v.). In '' 'laivula' is 
glossed liy < ), I'",, ftfua^ I'-'iJ?'. ' pn<:k ' ((Iiinmi, p. 5"()). 

41 iK The I'd/or (41 iH), which always j4loHses 'apei' in ihe vo< aluilai ies, is of 
course the; wild lioar, while /iiuirr (41 la,) is the 'niaf;arr, ' 01 ' maj^ialis ' ( W VV. 27 1, 
j.! ; ,).| j, .'., ell ), III ' M.e.l'.i iiwein ' ( |md.in, .lllriirns: hi' .S(iiii;i'/irill(lliifil, pp. Zf)o 
JUj). I'°oi an account ol lln- wild hoai in I''.n)'.lancl lioni the- eailic;sl times, and 
of his importance in the hunl, '.ei' I lailinj,',, l:.\liiiil Ihilish Aiiiiiinls, London, 
iSSo, pp. 77 f. Tlie Si-ptc-niliei ilhel lal imi in the An/do Saxon calendai (Til». 
I!. V), which llartinf^ ciles, doc;s iiol ie|)ie',enl a lioai hunl in llie jmi'.l , ImiI ihe 
care of masted swine (sec note to 41 e.s)- 'he linniinj' ol ihe Imai is ilnu. de 
scribed, /I'dfric's <'V'//('(///'i' (WW. 93): ' IJiii i' ol h.h . , , llllnda^, liccliifon liyne 
tA me and ic I'ier tc'i^^i'anes slandc-nde fiurlice ofslikodi; hyne.' .So 'lutis/wn- vcd 
liuiiliiispo-i-'' is mentioned, Adfric:, Class. (WW. \,\7., 11), As Wrij^hl observes (Jhi- 
Mii-sli, Af.iiiiiii ^, pp. rn) 70), ' It would seem by this thai boat huiilin|', was nol 
uncommon in Ihe moii' exiiiisi\i' foii'sts.' 



100 KiDDi.i s oi- riii: i:.\i; ii;r hook 

41 ..)'' I)nl.s1(>al ;;i»'r»M>. Ci. Ju,'. jSS. hidstiMl gife.N. 

41 .m" if'nljj «)lVr «>i>r|»iin. So 95 1,., (///. 71:7. 

41 •\ s«' iiiia <««t(l. I'll! li.unouw's note upon this ])tir;iso, see li\tro(Uu'lion 
(' l'"oiin ;iinl Si i lu I nic 'V 

41 i.i-.-s I lu' (Mil I'.iiglish glossos to the oiis;iii.il of this passage ((';•. 13-15) lire 
inteiestiiij; ; " odoi.ito ' is glossed hy risit-niiii»i (( '), • llagiaiitiov ' hy strnieniire (C) 
and riwi'ihiti' (R), 'purpmeis' bv ri\iiium (C"). •i.onuoxa' h\ i;i-:c'i&tioJi- {('), and 
'rosotis' by rosf\\/,/ii»i [('). 

1 l\a\i' adopted, in lines ^^ to 2^ of niv text, ('iiein's additions; but these are 
so \iolent that it is perhaps quite as wise to abide by tl>e readings of the MS., 

K I'om on steiuv stiviijiTV j.enne ricels 
nl'lv rose sy [st\' or /<•] o\\ eoi|Mn t\rt. 

The second line obviously l.uks alliteration; but such a lapse is not particularly 
conspicuous among the nietiic.il weaknesses of this translation. With <>// <'.i;/<7;/ 
/177' compare /'//. 300, of |nsse eor|>an tyrf. 

41 J4 .!; rosi" . . . Hlio. Hoops rennrks, U'/<. 11. A/. (1005), ]i. Ui^: 'Von eigent- 
lichin /ierpllau/en tieten uns in tier angelsiichsischen 1 itei.ilur nin die Rose 
und 1 ilie entgegen. Pocli weiden ni.iiu'he iler iibrigen kuhivietten Ciewachse, 
n.inu'ullich der A i/i\eipll.in/en, /ugleich die Rolle von /.ierptl.ni/en spielen." He 
.ds(> notes, ib.. p. (>^o : ' Wmi eigentlichen /ierpll.ui/en werden in der allnordischen 
wie in der .iltenglischen l.itei.itur nur die Rose luui I, ilie ewvahni.' The histoiy 
of these among the hulo I'.urope.in jK-i^ples is ti.iced bv llehn. A'/-. 11. Hi. (looj), 
pp. -'17 f. 

1. lining. Pit- XiUii>\ p. i.p), observes: ' In einem Ratsel spricht Cynewulf schon 
f.ist wie ein Minnesiinger von der l.iebe, die der Mensch zu den Rlumen triigt.' 
It is indeed niiteworthv th.it for mankind's love of the lilv (41 -t) and for the jov- 
ous beauty of the rose (41 -5 .-i-) the Rnglish translati>r tinds no warrant in Ald- 
helni, who simplv mentions tluMn, lie. howe\er. jir-iises both flowei"s in his y\' 
/ .uiJi/'iis //'■;•.•'.•./".•. (.'dies. ]i. i|i. 1 lining .uUls : ' Auch der //<•//./;/..'' spricht von 
lien lieblichen bliimen iler lilie indem er einen an jenes Ratsel anklingenilen 
Austlruck gebraucht : /'/.'.'/ r/i;,! s,' /.•,<//i\i/ /•/<'///<>// (/AVa ;//,.■', idSi).' 

Vox an ahnost contemporary tribute to Lily and Rose, see Riddles o( MS. Hern. 
(ill, Nos. 3-), 35, 52. These have nothing in common with the Rose riddle of 
Symi>hosius, No. 45. Note the use of &J twJ ^cvr/ii, &,rf is lilic ond rose in Old 
I'.nglish superstitious forecast (/.<//.;'. Ill, 1.(4, 10-13), and their niysticul meaning 
(Thorpe. I low Hies II, 5.16, .:) : '(""lodes gelajning h.vfh on sibbe lilian, ^.vt is clajne 
drohtiing; on ^i»m gewinne rosan. >^.v't is martvrdoni." 

41 ,;i I'ls Ion SAVoarto. I-'or this use of dem. pron. with we.ik adj. ,;/'Av the 
subst.. li.unvniw. pp. :rii) j.'o. points to 41 ^S. I'cs wudu ffila ; 41 51. S;, |<es wong 
grena (contrast 36 i, se w.vta wong); 41 70, of I'issum strongan style he.ud.m. No 
other examples are met in the Ruidlcs\ but compare Chr. 456, se bieg.i m.T'ra, 
/>V.'7<'. 2670. se maga geonga, 3020, se secg Inv.U.i. 

41 .^6' ]»loec oiul ]'yiiiio. Here the transl.Uor f.dls into the error of associat- 
ing 'grossas et graciles' with the preceding line (("/, 10) and not with Miguras' 
(1. 20). 



N()i'i;s \()7 

41 J.) <'f. Itfilc, /■:,,/. Hist. 1\', ;: 'Iliin DiylHi'ii s\ lulci lie <• his digolnysse 
oinvrcali.' 

41 ,1 So ilic poet ruiuluis 'ti'lni 'I'arlara' (fV. jj). <'f. Chr. iSJjf., 

fiT-RC RS'-stas, 
on \vi;1|>i:i w Ic wdiiiIiiIi;! stiilii. 

This passaire siipp<iits MS. 7,'(W/ against (In.- -looiiii. 

41 .,() lV)«^f\viiin f{ol<l«'s. The i)hraso ruiuleis Aldhchn's ' (il)ula' (T/. 25). I'ih- 
ul.x aro thus dusciil)ed l)y Isidore of Scvillo, Orii:;iiifs, l!k. XiX, ( iiap. xxxi : 
'Fibulae sunt ([uil)us pectus faemiiiarum oinatur vel paliiuni iciicliir a viiis in 
humciis seu liugulum in linil)is.' Nowliere else in I'.mope arc Inuiul in so small 
an area so many models of fibula: as among llic Anglo-Saxons. Sec Dc Uaye, 
Industrial Arts of the Aiiglo-Saxoits, pp. 37 f. ; Koach Smith, Introduction to 
Ctitaloi^iic of A>ii^lo-Saxo>i Antitjiiitics in the South h'fiisi)ii^toii Mu.u'iiin ; Aker- 
man, A'rinoins of J\i^(in Sa.yondoin, pi. xiv, xviii, xx, etc. I'cihaps hliiil.f are 
meant by An,t. J02, wirn i:;cspann (see Krapp's note). 

41 (., \var<»'d'. 6V. 26, 'rhaninis' is glossed by yV/-.o7/w ((.:); and 'algis' by 7iv7/-///« 
(C), which, like source and context, supports the meaning 'weed' for the hapax 
i(i(ln>&. Sievers (/V>7>'. X, 454) reads wiro& and regards the half line as an A-type 
with second stressed syllable short (_L X X 1 vj/ x). See note to 3 s. 

41 50-51 These two lines are rei)eated in the />' portion of the riddle, 41X2-83 
(sii/>ni). —\J('». witn'A tiiM'iia. Cf. O'//. 7 iS, se grena wong ; AV,/. 675. gicne 
wongas (note). 

41 53 Cf. A/ft. II 35'', utan ymbi lypiie.N. 

41 54'' Hr lu'jiivlii forst. S<> /'//. 5S. 

4156 l'l«-ainis. Here tiie .Anglo-Saxon genitive form tiial is found in many 
proper names (cf. .Suii/iis, .]/,ith?iis) renders tiie genitive of tiie Latin, 'Vul 
cani.' 

4157 ir>(>lit)iu leomaii. ('{.Jit,!. i(>i,,J/</. 5 5, -V''/. 4'")- leohlne Koman ; Az. 
78, leohte leonian. 

41 s., Iu-ohr?ad (N. K. l)eebread) is always associated with honey in Anglo- 
Saxon writings (see the many examiiles offered by Cortelyou, Die o/tcni^^/ischen 
X.nnen ,/cr /n.u:/,tfn, pp. 28-29) ; and in liie (Mosses h u iiii; oml h?ohr?Oil -.u^i found 
invarial)ly with the lemma 'mel et favum' ( '///'. /V., /'<'.>/. /'v., C.Dit. Ps., xviii, 1 1). 
It is therefore a ciiaracteristirally lOnglish, if free, translation of Aldlielm's 'Unli 
nectaris haustus ' {Cr. 31). 

41 fK, wcniirxl. Hoops notes (//'/'. //. A/., ]>. -iSi): ' Spezilisch wcstgcMina 
nisch ist der Name des Wermuts {Arlowisia al<sinthiiiiii).'' Here it translates 
the alisinthiit of y\ldhelm {Cr. 32). 

41 (>i <»ii liyrstiiiii. ('.rein, Dirht. and S/>r. I, 133, renders ' im Blattschmuck '; 
but Thor|)e was probably right in translating ' in the hursts.' In this sense the 
word apjiears nowhere else in the poetry, but is found often ni the Charters 
(15. T.. p. 584) both as simplex (with place-names) and compound. Sec X. /■'../>. 
s. V. /////-.f/. — licuBewo. This renders ' glauca ' {Cr. 32), which there and in I'r. 65 
has the meaning 'grayi.sh.' As Brooke freely translates {/■:. F.. Lit., p. 13S), 'the 
bitter wormwood stood pale gray.' See my note to Kid. 12 .. 



l6S l< M>I>1 IS ()!■ Ill 1 1 Ml IK liOOK 

,jii.: CM t;iii\uu. :':ti!. Mvtii. (Stullpyluass), p, 511), poiiils to lin-. p.i.-.ii'.c .i-. 
|.i....| ol I lie ilcnv .iliun i>l ( ». V . .-.'/f-// ((>. N. lot II II >i) I mm <■/,;// (.;•..■) 'In c.il ' , l>iil 
llic \\cif'l\l 111 llic i'\ ivli'lii I- r. •.oiucwli.il ilmimi-.Jir.l l>\ I lie . ii. iim-.I.m. r lli.il llic 
ll\.Mii',li( luMc !•. >l<-ii\.-.l li..m AMIi.liu'-. I .11 m, ,,.•.■..■;.".■ /.I •.,■ (MS /, 1 • > . ) u'luifi 
ini- I '< ; ;. • t v i l.'|imii,' w liu li r. I'lo'.-.cil 111 (' ,i!(,l. Kol li ^.llml c .iiul i oiilf\l (••.l.ili 
li^ll liM ifn,(,i>i till- lur.inmp. 'imI .1'. nun li .r.,' 1 .il iici I h.iu ■;/'«//</.///," l>c I'nii.il lu ' 
(A//. 1. .•!.)). (Sinuu, i> ',•>>, ill'., ir. ■..■■. t> i' /■ 1 • > (I > N, /.///. I'V fit in;', i.'.'. ('.'A 
.| ■ ^ ;. |'\i'. •.. imI .ui Iriiin- |M'\viiui,lu | ail.i inn.m iaiuli-. Il i-. ml ii c-.l nir. In n>il<- 
lli.il 'rv-lMix-.' .lu- ii-n.li'icil ,/»//..;,•■ /.)■' I.; . (WW ;;>). --V ' < '.i. 1 " (( '.i. n-., llit- 
f^i^.iMlii MMi .'I \ nil. in) \: llic- liinni.i lo /I'l,. (WW. ; (•, im). 

,|ii., («'(cs. ( icnil i\ c, • mil \ n-.l.r.-.nnr.ilf. nnl'i-.limmlcn I'lii « 01 Is "I'lw.i--"' 
(M.i.i.il, p (. V ( I .J !■. n.ili I. hwN illwri'.c'. 

.pi.f iM>rii«'\. \'. I >n-l I h II I ii'iil i\ i'\pl.im'. ( \ I , | ■, .,V I ln'. si i.ini'c i iiMlmc llic 
' pi-im'\ ' IS |)i.iiii'lil ml.i lic'inr. l'\ .1 i I'inplclr mi .niulrisl.uiilmi'. nl llir ' pins pcini\ 
.npulr. ' I'l \lillnlm (. • \\\ , .mil, I m.i\ .uM, 1>\ .1 i .Milnsinn 111 ihr nmul I'l llir 
li.msj.il.M ,.| ilu- l.iliii .111 |('i 1 n r • pn 1M\,' lu'l .r. .'m Inppn sih'im'sIs w iI Ii ' I rin \ ' 
(pli<iu\), ImiI Willi 'piiiliN' (p.iiiiiilj;f), Sii (iicin, /'/.''.•/,, UMiiK'is ' Kcliliiilm.' 
rii.uii 11 I. ills mil' cv.iiiU ilir s.inn- ciioi, //,'//,iv ,'f l\iMU iii, ;>>.• (i;>)-'K wluii 
l\f ii'mlcis ili<> ("ftuhthus iiiis ul \'ii};il (./»*«(•/.(■ iv, iSk^ I>\ • p.iii li. Ins winiMs' 
(siT I minslimv, Sfii,i'i,\( in ('>i,iii,i'» II, ,'oi^). 

.\\ >■ ImJ'oc. riii- siMili f i>l ihls, • .111 ipitu- '((■/, ;|.K 1- I'lnssi'il |i\ ".•.-, v '.[,;',', | 
(I ), llic ■ sii II .11 Ills ■ 111 " sill h .11 ms ' 111 ihc ii'.'.M.iv.v, I'lM li.iw Ivim,', .imnngllic .\iij;lu 
Saxnns, sec nnlc to Xi.t'. JO s 

41 i.s /.«<ttt>rus. Tlic wniil '.'cpliiii" (<■'. ;0 i"* f^losscil bv ;c<'sfi-rn,w ;,'</<i/<',>' 
(C) ami .<7..t. ■ :: 1 (lO 

41 /.I ,'i Niiirul . . . royiiw > nil . . . iVnycc. I'licsc ilucc wonls ciMic^iioiul In 
AKn\t'liu'H ( ;;■) • limdnicii.s ci ln\i.i\ ci i.iul.i icsiiuln p.ilnsuis.' wliii l\ .iic i;liissc»l 
h) llic ( '.(ml>n(l,no MS, liy <*«,V''''^'''"'"f" '">^' '.''/.i'/..^'/ anvl /•\'\!','i>ixc (K h'Oiioi). 
\Vl\ilm.u\, ./ '.'V •'•'.,• \\\, ;S 5, liU's oui p.iss.i^c .iml points out tl\at in the (//iM.ir.f 
.vM.c;;'/ is ,il\\.i\s ihc I'lnss In •lnn.i\ ' (W W I '1, ;i ; ;M, .'i) ; .| ; ;, i) ami F.f" to 
' |ioti.i\ ' ( W W i('i,i), ll)^,.■;, ;(ii, [■) .nul 'i,m,('(i-', |) AVj,''A'i'r'7#/ flosses 
• 111 ml nil lis ' (WW ;i, o; ,!;•;•, .'). w liu li in one pl.n c ( W W . i •.', .•.•) i.-* icndcunl 
by f<'>i!i'it I't i ,-,' ,i'i:,\-,'f;t't. . , 

41 l' IS H*"'**'* HllllU . . . x> lid. riicsc lines ,nc Iml .1 i Kisc 1 1 ,insl,ili,in ol .Mil 
holm's ' timi sniiolcs sonltMilc. > .inlli.mis .uci ' (i • ;,"<). • l '.ml.n iis ' i-. ilic Kinm.i 
to .•i'<a7 in many flosses (W W ii, •.'> ; i.i.S, ic, ;(i;, |V In llic picscni i .isc llic 
A'>iA'<7>.'/ (/i(«^»'/.V. ('/'//,> 4\ii\iri'.\ft,(i,ii) \h cic.uly imlicilcil. 

i\\ { s«* hrtni Ntrtli. Moail say.s. /', .1/. /..r \l\', loo: '.Seven times | in 
Atii-i.lii .'^.i\im piifliN I !..'• is .ipplicil to ho.nv, ,u'.i.iv slone, once lo the ni.iv liill, 
toui times to .iimoi, oiii c to .» swoul, oiuc to the oi cm, oiu c lo ihc i.',l.>\ licilli, 
tince times to the \\oll, twice lo iho fiost, .uul seven limes lo w.iuiois, in e.ii h 
CISC with some touch ot com cnliou.ilitv .uiil wilh .m .ipp.m-nllv slight teelme. toi 
the coliu,' I'l .'•'.,•., ,S,S ■, •>,^;, ••||, niiilci li.uiic sl.m , .'•',, .c I 1 1 s, olci h.une 
slAn ; .•/»*.('. S(i, vmlic hame si^in ."^cc mv uole lo jj ;, li.ii holies tcoiul 

41 'f* 7: I'^s lytlu wyriu |»«> hor on llOtlo ^ti^'A I'oMiiii «lrym« misses ihe 
sense ol' the 1 ,ilm .mil seems .m ovci el.ilioi.ilc 1 ciuleiim." ol • tippnl.i 1\ inph.ie ' 



NOll'.S 



Kh) 



(f ';. 41) ; hut conipati' Aldlielm, Ai-ni,i;iniif,i ill, \, /V 7'if'f>ii/,t, 1. (>, ' pcdiluiN nmdioi 
siipn .i'(|(iui;t sill is.' Dili li.insLiliii vvntild smii lo be .kijii. Milled vvilli nlln'i 
ii.ldlf. ,A Aldliclin I.CM1I1-, ihi- /V (■,, -.1/111,1. \ r\ \\i- .11.- li.l.l ><\ iIh •li|i|Mil.i,' 
by lllC L.tllll ( ■li>.'.'.,llnl III K, ' ri|)|Mll.l |I.IIVIIIII .1111111. ll I'l lev I' '.miilln I I i.iiii 

cum Itict'iM pedibllM HUpei .li{il.l-. |ii>',m' .niibul.ilc' ,\i < niibii)', In (Ollrlyuii, |i <jl>, 

this h\H('< I ih (ll llii' l.niiilv nl I Iwli ,>iiii-t) huf 01 1'1,'t,') i-\. 

41 .s.. s, As I li.ivc pi.inli-d ciiil, llu'Mf linos h;ivi- no irl.ilinn Ici (In- I .iliii ' Inslis 
IlKilliiil cxtis ' (f > . ,| }) and .sn^^^csl .iiioIIiim vrisimi di .Mdjiclin''. niiciu.i, liiil il 
is poHsibii* llial liu-y \v<'ii' inspired liy 'le\i(ii pliini.i ' (f '/ | 1 ), uIikIi j. ih>i li.ni', 
latcd in the; pioptn phn e. 

41 Hi Hi 'I'lic liddiei (/.') ne/'.lec !■, Ills Nomi e (f/ , (ll (..•), ill wllii \\ v. IiimikI nn 
HUfSm'Htion (if /.f'.t 7('|i//^' ,v'''^"|'. '■" 'l''l hi- ni.iy lepe.il 41 .,.. 1,1 (uif'Hl). Ww. ('. 

ylosH lundcis Aldiudm's 'lendm ' i>y /. <.'/// l,>hi„,l,l. 

41 Wi-K; Ah already ni'le<i, liie.e IJuen Mini III idiivey .III ex.11 liy ii|i|Mi',ile 
incaniltK to AUliielni'i ' Inli.i me . mini pei '..lei III. I I .iirJ.il ' ((') . (1 j), I'lelm 
icndcis, p. .'iS, 'Nil 111 e.l .in.'.ri mil ni'iiiil .in .imlri W'c 111 );i\\ .1 ll i|'ci im 
VVellielien ' ; bill loi lliis sense nl uilili'i I liml im w. 111. ml; while (liiin'. miei 

picl.iliiin (/'/,///.)■ iiiilei mil ' ilividvcH , il i.kIh 1 h in m liiiie. ,\ll ililln nil ic, 

wmild ili'.,ippe.ii, il il weie pnssiiiie In ii)'..inl ..',i/,/,-ni/i <■ as il.ll. sill/.',, nl pic'i. 
p.ii I. ipi.ililyiii|', llie Irm. ///, (1 1. 41 K) ami |i. Ii.iir.l.ile 'Uiidei ine liiliii);, liiiiiii^' 
the Wiil'Id's htu, is nil iilliei ui|'lil,' bill imlm I im.ili'l\ llie nidei ul wmil'. nji 
puses this. 

41 .,j H<* iiili'lii liwn'l. <'l. //■//.//<, j, Imiii mil I. Ill liu.ile, .See .il'.ii //■//(//<•,, I y, 
when- the Wliale is a symbol ol liie Devil (1 I . Alillnlm, <>/;■>, 1, Cilci, p In) 
bud. Ill s.iys (/>it- itll('n,i;^lisi lieu Siiiiiirlii'i iiiiiiii-ii, pp. .•mi .'in); ' Im Miiiij.iliii 

waiCM \Vallis( lie in den (■n).;lis( h(in (iowiissein vmIi Ii.miIii'ii .iI . in iliiinn 

/(•ilcn. Naeh Midi, lUilisli (,hiii,lnif>fils, p, ^S.S wimle ■ i li 1 )', In, m )li \,\\\ 

ih-n llaskeii im Kaiial Wallisi hjaj,;.! briri.lien. An:, .////. (',•//. [C'l/.u/iiv, WW. 
cj,|, 5, wih I'll lull ■.iiiiiiie livv.i l| (.".I'lil lieiMii (I.e.. am li bei den A lip.eisaelistMl di<;s 
nichlH llnbik.miilr , w.n I'nd m dei Him In nbimi', I n il .111111111 . ( 1 1 i\l . lu , l.'\, \) 
sa^l I ted. I : "( .ipmnlin .mliiii .ii{ii..iiiii' rl viluli 111.111111 il dilplmii"^, iiei nnii 
cl bal.ieiiae," wnliii .1' llnd : " In 1 In im nil |.m|ieiie MnI.e. onii liloli.ri ond ineie- 
SWyn." ' M.ilk I lie leleiem •••, lo wli.ile ll nil I ill).', ill ( )llllieie'H voya^^e {( h ,'iiin i, I ). 
/Mdlielm''. ' b.dleiia ' (( '/ . (11;) is ulnssj-d by (' .viA/iti r, Inane. Vux eiyinnlnfy nl 
Iru'.J, . (. Hoops, • W<ds nnd WaKisch,' l-'.iiyj. Sli„l. XX Vili, <j.- i;(.. 

41 .,1 t'l. ll'liiile, H), gilisei j^es na'sl, niimd ^esfr<!iN (itiliiiU). 

41 iH Hwnirliiii nyiM', 'I'lie MS. leading; is snppoiUul by llie l.ni'.e inmibei nl 
wi-ak adjet lives in /'/(/. 41 (11, 51;, 56, ijr)) and by llie 'eye' iiie.nmi)'. nl \yiir bl 
/>''(/. 33 s). I his is also in ki-epinj.', willi lln- imilrsl, wIh-iIhi we lemlei wilh 
(iiein, />/(///.,' mil schwai/i'in Ani'.e ' ni wiili 11. I, |i, .';•/',,' w ii li d.ii kemd vi'iimi ' 
I l<'lzf(-'Ul's le.iilinj.', iviifV/// /r//.r]'//<' li.r,, Imwev ei, imii li in il'ilavni; il lender. Aid 
helm's ' all. I ■ (r/.tn;) and is p.ualleled by Unii. \\ , \.yyr\ .m.yne 

41 >!•, 'fi 'I'll is seems a I In si a very widi- dep.i 1 1 nn- I mm .\ Idln lin''> ' e.\i|Mio snii al 
((■ f^nii&i I rii'ii-) ipii loipnia veime (< ' li)i//i/ii't'/Wi- ; K liondti'voi in)' bill Iniiiil 
7r'|'/7//, thi! woid 1 lin.en .il'.n by iiiii 1 1 .1 iislator (sfi; 67 j), calihos, like the ('am 
bridge? and Koyal f.;losM">, ihe lenli.il idei n| the l.ilin; (m , a. ( ni lelynii 'ilioWH 



I/O 



Ki i)i )i.i.s oi' 111 i: i:.\i' ri'.K r.ooK 



{/J/f* ii//i-/lx//Si'/if' A'i!//i<'/t ./(V ///.i('//(V/, p. ll.|), il is .il\\.i\s loiiiul ;is ;i i4;l()SS lo 
' hriiMisis ' ii^ WW., ami is the ' Kr;it/iuill>f drs Mciisilun, S.iuopli's Imiuinis.' 
• I )ii' l\iiit/c /('if;! sii li lucistciis .111 1 l.iiuli;rlfi\U, I'.lllicim'n, Knir ii.s.w. imil wild 
ilun li U iiu'iilliilikril tin hclifllciulcn Kc ii jn'i li'ilc silii lici^uiisl ii;l , Dir llandr 
Wi'ldi'il .1111 \\(iii!;slcn s.iiiliiT gril.llU'n, iltsli.ill) ist is ki'iu \\ uiidci d.is^ dit- 
ls.i.il/iiiill>r dcii N.iiiu'ii Juuiilwyi ni liihil.' 

41 .|S li\\i(t' locciis, I \VI•!T^sto J5«'\\ iiinliir. .\s 111. Ilk li.iii w.is liidd in di:d.i\i>r 
(i 1. iu>tc' to 13 S, ;i','///,',/.v // !//('), .so l.iii Kuks wfH' liij^lily (•slccmcd l>y the .\i\t;K> 
.Saxnns. //?t77<' /('(( i/.i' of our passage li.is no I (iiiiili'ip.u t in Aldliclnrs i.iiin; .iiul 
I'isfw lu-if ill llii' Ixhlilli's light liair is luciitioiu'd .is iiidi< .iiini; i.iiik. In 43 -^ Ir.^'tlhw 
is applud I.) llic hfn with a niisloadin;; liunim ili.il uh.iIIs (li.uui'i's dfsniptioii 
of reitelote ; .iiul in 80 1' h'vitlocct'iiii marks the woman of position, (•ivAm- ih>lito>\ 
h?i>fi ///(' «/«/.v >r koidiT, Die Ftunilie Iwi lini .tni;i-!s,ii/i.u-ii, Ilallf. iSi)(), p. 17, 
olisi'iAcs: "Allcin ini ( icgciis.!!/ /ii den nii'isli'ii mil tclln uhdriil si lien iluhtcrn, 
ilii- fast .in.itoniisi li /figlicdri nd ciiu' m Imnr l''i ,111 lic^^t liicilirn ( W Ciiilndd, frti/si 'ir 
l'i\iiti'ii, iS.Sj, I, _'ji f.), \ fi /il hill die .illi'iiglisi he I )ii 111 ling, iTu' ini Si hilli'i si hrn 
Sinn ■• n.ii\ " isl, .luf .lusliilu lit lir Si hmihi-ilssi liildi'i ungcn. Sio liosi'hiankl sii li 
d.ii.inf, lisl gcpiagif I'pillii'lr, dif .111 sii h im-isi l.iiMivs iind implastisch sind, /ii 
w icilri lioli'li.' As .m rx.impK' of this, \\v notrs I he flnnuMil men I ion of lighl riii Iv 
li.lil. iiul 'this p.issinn loi llir lilondi'' is .is sliongU m.iikrd in r.iilv (Irini.mv 
.ind .Si ,indina\ i.i (Wfinhold, />. /■; I I, ji 2 ; (lummeie, (iermnnic Orii^iiti:, pp. (u f.). 

41 i..| \vuii(liH> lofciis. Sif 4J .)S ,),|, /,', , ,M I ,-iV(~i7'(? ^^rwuiidiu, anil niv noli' 
lo i6..,\\il wimdcnion . liiooki- olvsrivi's (/•'./•'./ //., p. 1 ;;) : ' 'Ihi' I'nglish 
lil^flifd this \.isl ruvfiiiig of foii'sK lo riiih' lorks upon thi' hr.id .llid shiiuldLMS 

of f:.illli. . . . 

t'pmi me wmuli'i liilU w.isrlh mi ni\ luMil, 
. .'So 111, It nil iii\ slumlilris tlu'V iu.i\ ^hilllnl^■l In ii;lit, 

t'liiK links lull I iiiiiuisli . 

This is p.ii.illilcd li\ llii- Iii'l.indir ini.igi'u, .iiul wo omsfKi'S m.iv i omp.iu' Ki'.its's 
loM'lv \ihi.isi- of till' pinos : 

I'liOM- il.irk 1 liislnvil tii'i'S 
l'"li'ili;i' till' uilil liilm'il iiioimt.iins sli'i'p liy sti'i'p." 



41 us iini:«'s<f<l s\A III. (' fuiiii^lii's iiUiMt'sting glosses to Aldludm's 1 .Uiii 
lines: •,■;■///.( i/;.; .v ,17//. ? (' si rof.uum ') . . . < im,-.',- (• exungia ') . . . y>iv///t' />/;■■ i,'vw,(M'A;/> 
(' leferiint diim eorpora ') . . . /■,■.// <i>:i' (• f.igis ') . . . su<Hnas (' subulci ' or C 
' hnhulii 'V 

The Septenilui ilhistr.ilion in the S.ixon I'.dtnd.u ( Tih. 1".. \' ; lul, A. \' 1) does 
not represent, as Sharon 'I'lirner supposed (Hk. \ II, i h.ip. \ ii), .1 ho.ii hunt, luil 
'swineherds ["svihulii" or .v,-i',?'/,m | driving their swine into ihe foiests to feed 
upon .uoms, whii h one of the luidsmen is shaking fiom the tiers with his h.uul. 
The lu'idsmen were iieeessaiilv .iimed lo itroteil the lieiils under their ih.irge 
from robbers.' l'"or Ihe rights .iml duties of the two i kisses of swineheids — 
i;ti/i<lsu'Jn(! and ,7/iti:\;od>ii- — see A'. .V. /'., §§ ti, 7 ; Sehmid, pp. ;,-(> ;,7S. So in this 
tract, §4, p. 374, 'Sic gebt"ir sylle VI lilafas |'.~im inswane, I'oime he his heoule 
to nt.isteiif diife.' 



NOTES 



171 



' The iinpcirtance of swine is seen in llie place wliich the mast-l)eaiing woods 
occupied in tiie laws (a fine of six shillings was exacted for masting swine without 
proper license, ///t-, 49) as well as the fretpiency of pastures to which they were 
driven at certain seasons of the year; for the swine were not allowed in the meadow 
or on the stubble, for their grubbing and rooting would soon spoil it for the other 
animals. Domesday Book furnishes abundant evidence of the presence of small 
woods and coppices used for the purpose of jjroviding mast and mentions 427 
porcarii and 2 rustic! porcarii, a distinction which may point to the slave assist- 
ants and ceorlish swinekeepers. In the charters also there is occasional mention 
of tile mast-yielding woods which often formed a part of the boundaries, and the 
acorns and beechnuts were beaten down by the herdsman, as w-ell as left to fall 
when ripe. It is needless to mullijjly instances of swine pastures of which these 
wood-groves formed a part ' (Andrews, Olii /uix^/is/i Muiior, p. 209). See also 
Traill's Soiial Kn<:;liiiu1 I, 213-214. 

41 106 The Sow tells us ut the close of Aldiielm's riddle J)c Scrofa Pnu-gnaiite 
(vi, 10 7-9) : 

Fagos glandibus uncas, 

Fnictiferas itideni florenti vertice quercus 

Diligo, sic numerosa siniiil noii spcrnitur ilex. 

And the beech-tree is called Inuiira bcot^ Rid. 92 i (note). R contains an interest- 
ing gloss to Cr. 49, 'glandiferis . . . fagis ' (omitted by Wright) : ' Fagus et esculus 
arbores glandifere ideo vocate creduntur (pui e:irum fructibus olini homines vixe- 
runt cibumcpie sumpserunt et escam habuerunt. I'^sculus esca dicta.' 

41 107 Avnltoiide. The word is always used of swine (B.-T., p. 1277). — 
■wyiinum lii<U>. This phrase refers to swine, while Aldhelm's 'laetantur' (t>. 
50) pcjints to the swineherds ('subulci'). 



KI 1)1)1,1-: \-i 

Dietrich (XI, 473) believes that 'the Mother of many races' is the Earth, and 
that her offspring are the fruits of the soil, iron, fire, water. The solution is 
not impossible. F"rischbier {Zs. f. d. I'll. XXIII, 25S, No. 178) offers a Prussian 
riddle, ' Menschenwelt,' ' .Meine mutter hat viele kinder; sind sie gross, verschlingt 
sie alle ' ; but this has little in common with our problem. Trautmann (.1 iis^'iia, 
Bh. V, 49), without apparent warrant, suggests ' l''ire.' I was once inclined to think 
that the answer is 'Wisdom' (cf. Flores, i, Mod. Phil. II, 562, 'ilia mulier quae 
innumeris filiis ubera porrigit,') and pointed out, M. /.. X. XVIII, 104, that Wis- 
dom is ' the mother of many races, the most excellent, the blackest, the dearest 
which the children of men possess ' (cf. 27 18 f. ' Hook ' ) — ' blackest ' referring to 
the script of books, the precious products of Wisdom, which is called ' black seed ' 
in one of the best known of world-riddles (Wossidlo, No. 70). I'.ul the close con- 
nection of our problem with the 'Water' riddles points to a like solution here. 
I" 34 'r'". the Ice says of the Water: /.f viJii iiiodor viio^'&a cyuiies \h'F-'! dl-orestiju 
(cf. 42 4), and in 84 4 ' Water' is called .Modor . . . inonii^ra mierra loilita (cf. 42 -■). 
The variety of her offspring and her service to man, the two motives of Rid. 42, 



1/2 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

are elaborated in 84 s, 25-37. We cannot live here on earth without the food and 
drink that water furnishes to man (42 6-7). 

42 2-4 So the riddler describes ' the seas and all that in them is.' Nor, as the 
close parallel to the Ice problem shows, does he confine himself only to ealle J>d 
he onhr?ra& hreow^gns (Az. 141), but has in mind the waters themselves, sources 
and streams. With s?lestan, compare 84 27-28 (Water), eadgum leof . . . frrollc, 
seHTc, etc. ; with deorestan, 34 10 (see supra) and 84 jfi, gimmum deor7-a ; and w'ith 
siLhuxrtestati a word well suited to the Jisca cyiiti, Aldhelm, Cr. 65, 'in glaucis . . . 
ballena fluctibus atra.'' 

425 ofer foldaii sceat. Cf. Clir. 15,3, under foldan sceat ; ^[et. 452, geond 
foldan sceat. 

429 Very like is the closing formula of Kid. 29, which our riddle otherwise 
resembles in the use of superlatives (29 2-3, 42 2-3) and of bruca>i (29 i -, 42 7). 

RIDDLE 43 

There is no Latin source to this runic riddle of the Cock {Hand) and Hen 
{//u-n). Petsch {Zs. d. I'.f. J'k. VIII, 115) notes that the Cock is the ' erkliirte 
liebling der volkstiimlichen kleinpoesie ' ; and there are many cock riddles, Ger- 
man (Miillenhoff, Zs.J.d.M. Ill, 17), English (Chambers, Popular Rhymes of 
Scotland, p. 326), Norse (/. G. No. 289). But none of these bear any resemblance 
to our problem. 

In its mention of all the outliuildings of the Anglo-Saxon mansion, the 
Gere/a, 11 (.-/;/j,V/</ IX, 262), includes a hennery: ' swyn stlgian on odene cylne 
macian — ofn and aste and fela '^iinge sceal to tune — ge eac henna hrost.' Hens 
are mentioned in .'\nglo-Saxon wills (Thorpe, Diphmatarium, 509, 18, IIII hasn 
fugulas). To the early Englishmen the cock is always the ' orloge of thorpes lyte ' 
(for a discussion of Haiured as a time-division, see my Anglo-Saxon D(rginal, 
P.M.L.A. X, 1895, pp. 149-152). Hehn, Kp. u. Ht., 1902, 59S-600, has con- 
sidered the place of the Cock and Hen among the Aryans. 

43 2 pieman. Sievers {PBB. X, 520) suggests plegiaii on metrical grounds. 
Madert, p. 2S, notes that in the present strong forms of this verb appear (Sievers, 
^''■^. §39i> 11- i)- ^^^ adds: 'Because Type A with short second stress is often 
found in the Piddles, it is not necessary to accept Sievers's emendation.' Plegan 
is found with the seon construction, Gcii. 2yy8, El. 245. 

43 3 hvvitloc. See note to 41 98. So the Hen of Chaucer's A'oiinc Preestcs 
7 ale is ' cleped faire damoysele Pertelote ' (B. 4060). 

43 4 I'fiL's -weoroes speow. Elsewhere we meet the gen. construction with 
spowan (that in which any one succeeds) only in Gen. 2810 f., ^e glen a speow | )'a;s 
J^u wi"5 freond, etc. The instrumental is usually found {Spr. II, 471). 

437 bee. Cosijn remarks {PPB. XXIII, 129-130): 'bee, "buchstaben " wie 
Dan. 735, ierendbec {PBS. XX, 115) ? .M^er der schreiber schrieb den text seiner 
ratsel gewis nicht in runen, nur die zu erratenden worter.' pdm Jje bee wita)i is 
probably used conventionally for ' wise ' or ' learned men.' 

43S-11 For Sievers's discussion of these runic lines \Anglia XIII, 5!.) see 
Introduction (" Authorshij) "). 



NOTES 173 

43 c, ' .SV torhta trsc wird der Baum genannt wegen seiner hellgrauen oft silbern 
schimnicrnden Rinde ; eigentlich ist an dieser Stelle die Rune a; gemeint aber das 
Beiwort bezieht sich naturlich auf den Baum' (Hoops, Alteiigl. PJiatizennanieii, 
pp. 36-37). Liining {Die A'tttttr etc., p. 136) cites the EdJa {//. //«. ii, 36), itrska- 
pa&r askr, ' wol von der silbergrau schimmernden Rinde.' For furtlier discussion 
of the Ash, and of its use as a spear, see notes to Pk/. 73. 

43 11-15 I" '^''- Hi 121, Grein explains Imylc (1. 1 1) as ei qui or j; qid.s, and in 
Dichi. translates : 

dcni der des Hort-Thores 
Verschliiss erschloss durch des Schliissels Kraft, 
Der dieses Ratsel vor den rathenden Mannern 
Iliitete sinnfest dem Ilerzen bevvunden 
Mit kiinstvollen Banden. 

I dissent utterly from this interpretation, and regard Invylc as simple interrogative, 
and damme as the antecedent of j^c (1. 13). So I translate 'which (of the rune- 
letters) unlocked, by the power of the key, the fastenings of the treasury-door, 
that held (i.e. protected) against those skilled in mysteries (rynemenn) the riddle 
(i.e. its solution) fast in mind, covered in heart by means of cunning bonds ?' Just 
as if one should say 'which letter gave you the clue ? ' 

For a discussion of hordgates and ciegan crtrfte, see my notes to Rid. 45 
and gi. 

43 12 cifgan (THpftc J^ii clamine onleac. With this compare ./l-'^lfric's phrase 
in the introduction to his (r?-a»i»iar: 'Sta;fcra;ft is seo caeg (Se 1S5ra boca andgit 
unlTc)'.' See also Sul. 184-185, boca c[£ega] [lejornenga locan. 

43 16 ^ve^unl set Avine. Cf. 47 i, wer sa;t ait wine. 



RIDDLE 44 

Dietrich (XI, 473) rightly points out that 'the noble guest' and his servant, 
who is also his brother, are the Soul and the Body, and that the kinswoman, 
mother and sister (cf. Rid. 835) of them both, is the Earth, — mother, because 
man is molded from her ('mother-earth'); sister, because she is created by the 
same father (God). The only resemblance to Eusebius, No. 25, De Animo, lies 
in diorjie giest and ' accola magnus ' ; and the leading motives of the two riddles 
are so different that this slight likeness may be a coincidence, not surprising in 
view of the demands of the common topic (infra). E. Miiller, who prints Grein's 
text and translation of Rid. 44, and discusses the problem at lengtli {Herrigs 
Archiv XXIX, 1861, 212-220) believes that in the case of this enigma we have 
no definite source, but the frequent and popular motif oi Bddy and Soul journey- 
ing through life as servant and master. He points out that spiritual reflection is 
revealed in the outlook upon eternal punishments and joys, and in the contrast 
between the two sides of man's nature, but that the popular element appears in 
the e.\pressions, in the alliterative form, in the turns of speech, and in the single 
words. He analyzes the vocabulary of Rid. 44, word by word, and indicates certain 
parallels of thought between this and such poems as The Gfar'e (He wes bold 



174 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

gebyld), which he considers at length. Mone, Aiiz. II, 235, records a fifteenth- 
century German riddle, obscure and full of symbolism, containing, among many 
other puzzling phrases, these : ' My son was my father and my mother and my 
daughter ' ; ' I was practiced in the art of healing, and overcame all sickness.' 
In the margin is given the answer : ' Es ist leib, geist und sel.' 

The association of Body and Soul is a favorite theme of Anglo-Saxon poets, 
not only in the Exeter and Vercelli poems with that single motive, but in the 
works of the Cynewulfian group (Herzfeld, p. iS). Body and Soul are a married 
pair, Gn. 940, y///. 697-701, and are companions on a journey, C/ir. 176, 1036, 1326, 
1580, 6^?/. 810, 1 149,////. 714, P/i. 513, 523, 584 (Dietrich, XII, 246; G2.eh\er, A nglia 
III, 512); but we meet them only here in the relation of servant and lord. For 
the bibliography of Body and Soul Streitgedichte, see Kleinert, Ueber den Sireit 
zivischen Leib mid Seek, Halle, iSSo; Wright, Poeftis of I Falter Mapes, Camden 
Society, Appendix; Varnhagen, A/tglia II, 225; Rieger, Gerinania III, 3981.; 
Zs.f.d. Ph. I, 331-334; Bruce, M.L.X. v, 193-201. 

44 I Cf. 95 I, indryhten ond eorlum cu^^ 

44 2 giest in geardum. The phrase recalls not only the accola 77iagniis of 
Eusebius, but the well-known lines of Hadrian's Address to his Soul : 

Animula vagiila blandula, 
Hospes comesque corporis, 
Quae nunc abibis in loca? 

Cf. Ch)-. 819-S20, savvel in lice | in I'iim gcesthofe ; i4Sof. ; Exod. 534, )iysne 
gystsele (the Body). Cook in his note to the Christ passage (p. 166) points to 
2 Cor. v, I, ' our earthly house of this tabernacle.' A play upon words, _^«-j'i' and 
giest, was perhaps intended by the riddler; if so, it was lost in the X'aX&x giest, the 
scribe's form. 

44 2-4 Compare Ph. 613 : 

hunger se hata ne se hearda j^urst, 
yrniiSu ne yldo. 

See also Chr. 1660, Nis )'£r hunger ne l>urst. 

444-5 Cosijn, PBB. XXIII, 130, pointed out that the additions of Grein were 
unnecessary to either sense or meter (see my text). As in 41 96, Dreavi 98, se lie 
= Jione J>e. 

44 5, 8, 16 esno. About the social position of the esne there has been much 
discussion. Kemble, Saxons in England I, 8, p. 176, thinks that he was a poor 
free day-laborer serving for hire ; while Maurer, A'ritische Ueberschau I, 408, whom 
Andrews follows {Old English Manor, p. 194) would place him in a special class of 
the unfree as 'one who received for his work servant's wages.' For a judicial 
discussion of his status, see Schmid, Gesetze, ' Glossar,' s. v. No one denies, how- 
ever, that he was originally of the servant class, and that he was of a higher rank 
than the Jieo7ii or 7oealli. Bartlett, Metrical Division of Pat-is Psalter (1896), p. 21, 
shows that esne as ' slave ' is specifically Anglian. Klaeber, Anglia XXVII, 263, 
points out that esne in West Saxon is archaic, but it appears frequently in the 
oldest laws (only once in the later, R. S. P., § 8) ; and continued long in the North 



NOTES 175 

(R., Lind., Rit.). While esne as 'slave' is replaced hy J>eo7c.i, esne as 'vir' appears 
in /Klfric, Old Test., and in Byrhtferth {Anglia VIII, 321 ; 331, n). In the Riddles 
the word is used in both senses: in 28 if^ it seems synonymous with ceorl; is 
applied to a servant by contrast with fyea in 44 ; and refers simply to man or 
youth in the coarse riddles, 45 4, 55 s, 64 5. Compare Jordan, Eigentiimlichkeiten 
des anglischeii Wortscliatzcs (1906), p. 91. 

44 6 on piini sl'flftete. For references to the common journey of Body and 
Soul, see supra. 

44 7 findiitV ■\vit()(U'. Cf. Gii. S90, witude fundon. 

44 10 forht. Klaeber says {JMod. Phil. II, 145, note): 'Grein's explanation of 
\}xi%forht as ' terribilis ' in the Sprachschatz (so Thorpe, Toller), and his transla- 
tion "und der Bruder dem andern nicht will unterthanig sein" are open to doubt. 
It will be better to take brdJ>or bt>rtim as parallel to esne his hldfo7-de and interpret 
ne wile forht loesan as a parenthetical clause, "will not live in fear" — a thought 
well illustrated by the Discourse 0/ the Soul to the Body.' I can see no reason for 
accepting Klaeber's explanation, as hoXh forht 2ind for htlic are used in the active 
sense of 'formidable,' 'terrible' {Spr. I, 326). Indeed, I prefer to begin a new 
thought with lie (1. 10). 

44 11-^ bropor opriini. Kluge, PBB. IX, 427, cites Gn. Cot. 52-53 : 

fyrd wiS fyrde, feond wi'5 oSruni, 
laS wi(S lal>e. 

As in 4 42'^-43-'', sceor 7c>i& o/>rum, \ ecg w/d' ecge, double alliteration is avoided in 
the second half-line of the Gnomic verse by avoidance oi feond 7oi& fconde (con- 
trast, however, 51 ai^., feond his feoiide). 

44 14 iiioddor Olid sivcostor. The relationship of the earth to the body and 
soul of every man suggests Kid. 83 5, eorJ>cin brojior, and the Anglo-Saxon prose 
riddle. The one Anglo-Saxon prose riddle, a relationship problem found in MS. 
Vitellius E. XVIII, 16 b, has been printed by Wanley, Catalogue, p. 223, by Mass- 
mann, Alones Anzeiger, 1833, p. 238, by Grein, Bibl. II, 410, and by Forster, Herrigs 
Archiv CXV, 392 (see my note to 'secret script' of Rid. 37). I give Varnhagen's 
reading as presented by Forster: ' Du t>e fasrst on hone weg, gret 5u minne br6^'or, 
minre modor ceor[l], J'one acende min agen wTf, and ic waes mines broSor dohtor, 
and ic eom mines fa?der modor geworden, and mine beam syndon geworden mines 
faeder modor.' Dietrich (XI, 489) believes that in the first part of the riddle (cf. 
Mtn dgen wif) a man is speaking, in the second a woman ; so he regards the 
problem as double, and gives the two answers ' Day' and ' Eve.' Grein, Gerwania 
X, 309, gives the solution ' Eve,' and meets all ditficulties in his analysis and 
translation: ' Griisse du meinen Bruder (Adam), meiner Mutter (der Erde) Bauer 
{ceorl), den mein eigen-Weib (die der Eva unterthane Erde) gebar, und ich war 
meines Bruders (Adams) Tochter und bin meines Vaters (Gottes) Mutter ge- 
worden (als Ahnfrau Christi) und meine Kinder sind geworden meines Vaters 
(Adams) Mutter (Erde, d. h., sie sind im Tode wieder zur Erde geworden).' This 
solution finds striking confirmation in the circumstance that Schick and Forster 
{//errigs Archil' CXVI, 367-371), working in entire ignorance of Grein's article, 
reached the same conclusions as he, point for point. Complex and sophisticated 



176 Kii)i)i.i:s oi'- 'nil". i':xi:'ri':R hook 

tliDii^li lliis |ii()st- liddlf in;iy sooni, it is full of ]-)opul;u motivt-s common in riddlo 
and iliidogiic lilfialuro (see my note to llohiic /\it/</h-s. No. 7S, /'. ;]/. /.. ,/., XVI I I, 
262; Kemhle, Sii/c/j/c// aii<i Saturn, pp. Ji)5--')S; Foister, l''ii))ih'all Misccllaiiy, 

pp. S(. r.). 

44 K. «'(>'|>a. Tlif Nortlu in form of West Saxon cf^/x', whicli is found as <•/./„/ 
(Rush. il/i///. V, 17), and as lithtlia (Ih-Je's jyc\it/i-Si>nf^, 1. 4), is consideied by 
Sievers, lir?, 317, and by Madeit, \>. 29. See also /'/>/>. XXIV, 403 f., 504, on 
■odci.' — |h> ir lior .viiil) sprirr. C'f. 24 n, hat ir |>a;r ymb sprice (see note). 

RlDDl.l''. !.■> 

'l"o this olisiene litldlc l>ictriih (\1, -175-. |7(') offers two answers, ' Roy ' anil 
' Dagger Siieath.' I'.itlier or botii m.iy be eorreet (see my article, J/. /.. ^\'. 
XV 111, ()), as each ii.is strong supjiort. Tiu' lirst is favored by Rolland's fif- 
teenthcentury French riddle (No. 14.1), by Kckart's Low (ierman cpieries (Nos. 
222, 22^), by Wossidlo, Nos. 145', 434 n-, and by the very lively problems in the 
Isleuzkor Gdtur (Nos. 603, 607, Skra <)v' J.ykill), all of which bear many resem- 
blances to the Anglo-Saxon ; the second is sustained by Wossidlo, No. 434 i-, and 
by the veiy similar English puzzle in Ifolmc Riddles, No. 130, and in Royal RiddU 
Ju'ok, iSjo, p. 11. As the Anglo-Saxon key is associated with women (Wright, 
Ct'll, Ronian and Saxon, \i. .pd), antl this object hangs hi -tvorrs />i-o, Dietrich in- 
clines to the second solution; but Tiautmann h.\s shown (/>'/>'. XIX, 192-195) 
tli.il the woiils of liie ritldle l)ellet suit the tiist answei, as the key is hollow in 
front (45 -•''), is stiff and liard, and is the active agent of the last lines of the rid- 
dle. Hut, as 1 have pointed out (.1/. /,. X. XVIII, 6; XXI, 102 ; see Introduction), 
it is unwise to dogmatize over the answers to Anglo-Saxon riddles of this class. 
It is probable that the collector himself knew and careil little about the original 
solutions, since any decorous reply would adorn his unseemly tale. The element of 
double entente in such problems is completely overlookeil by Walz in his discussion 
of Rid. 45 {Haivard Studies V, 265). I''or the ilulies of the Key, see Rid. 91 and 
my explanatory notes. Rid. 45 is closely IkmuuI by its diction to other obscene 
jiroblems, 26, 46, 55, 63, 64 (see Introduction). 

45 1 As Traulniann has noted (/>'/>'. XIX, loO./xi' represents tiie dissyllable 
J>roe, demaiuletl li\' the verse. 

45 2 t'oDiii is ])yn'l. In gi > the Rey is described wa />yreL 

45 -•, .i IVeaii .. . «'sm'. I'r.iutniann (A'A'. XIX, ii).(-i()5) lemaiks that 'esne 
h.is lu'ie nut liie meaning "ser\.int." but ihe more gener.d sense of "man."' In 
any c.ise the isnr. who is the loid of the key (compare tlie • ciuiiilatus ' of 18 anil 
24), is not to be contrasted yvith frra. as Ciiein does in his fii'it. when he tians- 
l.ites the litter as 'I'liist,' the former as ' rnterlan.' Contr.ist the use in A'ld. 44 
(see my notes). 

45 .i .s Trautmann (/>'/<'. XIX, 10s) makes the rather obvious comment that it 
must have been very customary for men in Anglo-Saxon times to wear long gar- 
ments (see Rid. 55 ■,•()• This fashion is illustrated liy scores of pictures in every 
illuminated manuscript. See Slrutt, yAvi/./ .■///i,'t7i;iv///<j', p. 46 ; Fairholt, Costume 
in luii^land, 1SS5, I, .)2. 



NOTES 177 

45(1 ll is IiaiiUy necessary to assert, contra Trautnianii, tliat tlio riddlur in liis 
use of lniiii:;clliiii had not in mind the fern, gender of cici:;, tiie suljjecl of tlie jjrol)- 
lem. In the h'idii/t-s, as I iiave several times pointed out, there is no such insist- 
ence upon grammatical gender (see 247, 25 7, 363 and /,eii/. 3, 396-7, 41 passim). 
45 7 eloiihin;;'. 'rrautmann is right in substituting this for MS. t[/'e /<//<<,'■, wiiich 
Grein, Diclit.^ renders 'die langliche(?),' hut wiiich in Spr. I, 218, he thus explains 
' efe-laiii^ fiir cfenlau}; (emlaiig, emnlaui^^ '-yt-')' •^'-U- gleichlang? Wright, I'roT. 
Dill., giebt ein engl. evelotiff, "oblong."' As Trautmann says, '■ cfcii-laiii; finds 
support in ffcn-eald and e/cii-s7in&, and the sense demands the meaning "gleich- 
lang," "just as long."' Kfciila>ii:; icr, in its position at the end of the first half- 
line, suggests 954, til? I'icmiliitn (MS. //vwi/tj) t?;-, where adjective and adverb 
stand in the same relation. 

RIDDI-E 40 

Dietrich {XI, 474) suggested, somewhat doubtfully, ' Uee ' ; but Ilerzfcld and 
Trautmann have independently given the obvious solution 'Dough.' As I have 
noted {M.L.jV. XVIII, 103), confirmatory evidence is overwhelming. The riddle 
appears in various forms in modern (lermany (Eckart, Nos. 88, 440, 506; Wossidlo, 
Nos. 71, 126), does service in the fifteenth century (Kiihler, IVeiiiinrJ/ir/i. V, 329 f., 
No. 30), is cited twice in Schleicher's Lithuanian collection, p. 195, and is known 
to English peasants [Royal Kiddie Book, Glasgow, 1820, p. 4). 

Hoops, \Vh. It. k'p., p. 595, shows that among the Anglo-Saxons wheat was the 
chief grain for bread [Thorpe, Iloviitics II, 460, 16] in tlu' midlands and the 
south, where the climate favored its cultivation ; while in the north, as cailii 1 
upon the continent, barley was the staple grain. In the ninth cenlury the supjily 
of wheat exceeded the home demand. Hoops points out tiiat in the Ji!:;ils Sai:;<i, 
chap. 17, 7, the Norwegian Thorolf about 875 sent his people to England to buy 
wheat and honey, wine and clothes. 

Leo, Rectitiidiiics Siiii:;iihiritin Persona rii in, pp. 1 98 f., describes the various breads 
of the Anglo-Saxon : ' 6V.wyi'////(//'[Kemble, Codex Dipl. I, 193, 296 ; Th. Iloni. II, 
460, 32 ; Schmid, Gcsetze, p. 166, 'Glossar' s.v.] ist brot was man zu anderen s])eisen 
hinzu isst, denn sufl ist alles was zuni brot als zukost genossen wird . . . cs s( Ix-inl 
also was wir nennen hausbacken brot zu sein ; elicit ///<?/ [Thorpe, Iloin. 11, 460, 
16] ist ohne zweifel noch ein besseres waizenbrot . . . es ist brot vom reinsten 
mehl ; hcorf hlaf [' azymus panis,' ungesiiuertes brot ; see Thori)e, Ifoiii. 1 1, 264, 3] 
mochte dem schweren, schwarzen brot {/iiiiii:;-r, /ive/cr lileifr) der alten Nordliinder 
entsprechen, worin auch die Kleien waren.' See also P.outerwek's Junleitiiii_i^ zu 
Ctedmoit, pp. Xi:i f. Wright, Domestic Manners, p. 29, notes that in the many 
illustrations of feasts in the manuscripts the Anglo-Saxon bread is in the form 
of round cakes, much like the Roman loaves in the pictures at Pompeii. Bread- 
making by Anglo-Saxon ladies, as suggested by the etymology of hllcfdige, is dis- 
cussed by Ileyne, fiinf Biic/ier T, 58, 119, II, 268. In our riddle we have the 
most vivid description of the woman's work of kneading. 

46 I weaxaii. The MS. wear is retained by Thorpe, Grein, and Wiilker; and 
Grein in Dic/it. renders ' ein Gewhchs,' but in Spr. II, 276, follows Dietrich XI, 



1 78 RIDi:)LKS OF THE KXl^TKR HOOK 

474, in regarding '7c'ca.v = ^cuuns oder 7c'di-c-s, gen. n. von 7C'<T(., "weich." ' Sievers's 
suggestion 7cui(fs (/V)7>'. X, 520) finds siip]Dort in 62 9, r/'mics udtlrw(et, in 55 5, 
stTfiCs udthiiHet, ;iiul in 46 3, hdnlease. liiil 1 prefer the reading of Ilerzfeld (p. 69) 
and llolthaiisen (/./•'. IV, 3S7), '.vM.xaii, wliich accords witli both the grammar 
and the sense of the passage, as well as witli the metrical demands of 46 1''. 

46 2. piiuliiii oikI ]Miniaii. The swelling of the 1 )ough is naturally the Uttinotif 
in the jiojiular ]>r()l)lems that I have cited. 

46 ,i l>r.v<l jifiiixxl*'- <-'f- 26 7, heo on mec griped. 

464 h.vfjcwioiir. So, under the same circumstances, the woman in 267 is 
moihvlonc, and in 434 7C'ldiu\ Cf. 465, J„~W//cs dohtor, with 266, ieorles dohior 
(see my note). 

46 5 J^rliHloiide. Thorpe's reading /.iiidi-iid,- is supported by 46 2, J>i/ttf,i>i, and 
C.rein's conjecture h'iiiteiuie by Mod. 24, f,>iiitc-Ji, and by A'/</. 38 2, dhrunteit. The 
MS. form is a hapa.x-legomenon. 



RIDDLE 47 

This query of ' Lot with his two daughters and their two sons' (T. Wright) is 
one of the oldest and best known of relationship-riddles, as 1 have twice shown 
{M.L.X. XVI IL 102; note to ]iolmc Riddles, No. 10). Schechter ('Riddles of 
Solomon in Rabbinic Literature,' Folk-Lore T, 1890, p. 354) cites this from Mid- 
ras/i Ilacliephez (Brit. Mus. Yemen MS. Or. 23S2) as the second query proposed 
by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon (compare Friedreich, pp. 9S-99, citation of an 
older Midrash ; Hertz, 'Die Riitsel der Kiinigin von Saba,' Ifauf'ts Zs. XXVII, 
1-33; Wiinsche, Rdtselweisheit hei den Ilebrdern, p. 16). It appears twice in 
Reusner's collection (I, 335, 353), in the second case as a mock epitaph ; is noted 
by Wossidlo, No. 9S3, notes, in several modern German forms; and is considered 
by Petsch, p. 14. Compare the Scandinavian versions {/slenzl-ar Gdtii>\ Nos. 504, 
6SS, and Ilylten-Cavallius, Gtitor oek Sporsmal fran I'dretid, No. 117), and the 
English forms (Chambers, Popular Rhymes, p. 113, and Gregor, Folk Lore Soc. 
Fitbl. VIII, 76). The Reusner version (I. 353) reads: 

Wunder iibor Wuiuler, 
Ilier ligt begralx>n under 
Mein \'atter und deiii \'atter, 
Und unser beider Kinder Vatter, 
Mein Mann und dein Mann, 
Und unser beider Mutter Mann, 
l''nd ist duel) luu" eiu M.iiin. 

(~)ur query seems to have had no vogue in the Middle .\ges, yielding in favor to 
such riddles of strange family ties as those of the Reichenau MS. 205 (Miilknht>lf 
and Scherer, Feukmdler^, 1892. p. 20) and Strasshtiri; Rb., No. 305, or of incest 
as that proposed by the Ring in the Apollonius story (Riese, Apolloititis 7'0ii 

7'vriis, 1S93, chap, iv ; Geshi Ronuiitoriiin, chap. 1 53 ; Shakespeare's Ferteles, i, 1). 
In our riddle the theme is given a Germanic coloring by 47 i, -ioer . . . «/ wi/te 

(cf. 43 u>, 'u<eriiin u-t -wi/ie), by 47 5, u^ieliiiga, and by 47 7, eorla ond idesa. Compare 



NOTES 179 

with this riddlf-treatment the Anglo-Saxon version of the story of Lot and his 
daugiiters, (A//. 259S-2613 (see prose Genesis, xix, 30-38). 

474 freolu'o frunibeani. Cf. Crtv/. 968, freolTcu tvva frumbearn ; 1189, frcolic 
frumbearn ; 161 S, ful freollce feorh, frumbearn Chames. 

476 earn oiid nefa. See note to 39 f>-7. Other half-lines of shortened A-type 
{J- X I ^ X ) are noted by llerzfeld, pp. 44-49 ; compare 18 n, 39 6-7, 43 2(?), 93 10, 
etc. (Introduction). 



RIDDLE 48 

It hardly needs Prehn's long discussion (pp. 220-223) to establish the obvious 
connection between this ' Bookmoth ' riddle and its source, the 'Tinea' enigma 
(No. 16) of Symphosius : 

Litera me pavit, nee quid sit litera novi. 
In libris vixi, nee sum studiosior inde. 
Exedi Musas, nee adhuc tamen ipsa profeei. 

Of the Anglo-Saxon version, Dietrich remarks (XI, 451): ' Ilier ist besser erzah- 
lung statt der eignen rede der unbedeutenden perstinlichkeit eingefiihrt und, was 
sonst nicht wieder vorkommt, der gegenstand selbst genannt, und somit nur das 
buch zu rathen ubrig gelassen.' As Prehn points out, the leitmotif of the Sym- 
phosius problem (see 48 5-6) appears in the ' Bookcase ' riddles of Aldhelm ii, 14, 
and Eusebius, No. 2,Z (see /\i<i. 50 n). Our riddle is found not only in Islenzkar 
Gdiur, No. 761, but in many modern English forms : Holme Riddles, No. 13; Wit 
Ne-iuly Revived, 1780, p. 2 ; Royal Riddle Book, p. 14 (' Mouse in a study') ; Riddles, 
Charades and Conundriims, 1822, No. 64. 

In Rid. 48 we find six lines, where the ' Tinea' enigma has only three ; but it 
cannot be truly said with Herzfeld, p. 29, that the method of 36 and 41 is fol- 
lowed, and that to each line of the Latin two correspond. It is true of the riddler, 
however, that ' Neue Seiten hat er hier seinem Gegenstande allerdings nicht ab- 
zugewinnen vermocht.' 

48 2 WrTrtlicu and wundo7- suggest the usual opening formulas, and ic gefrcrgn 
connects this riddle with 46 i, 49 1. 

48 4''-5^ These words suggest the praise of books in Rid. 27, 50, and 68, but 
the closest analogues of Ixfs strangan sta/>ol are found in the description of 
books in the ' Beech ' riddle, 92 3, wynnstaJ>ol, and in Sal. 239, gestra>iga& Ity ond 
gesta&elia& sta&ol/iesine gej>d/it. 

RIDDLE 49 

This has much in common with Rid. 60; and Dietrich (XI, 474; XII, 235) 
closely pssociates the two, offering as a solution to our riddle ' I'yx,' and to its 
fellow 'Chalice or Communion Cup.' I agree in the main, but I am inclined 
to think that the Paten or Plate, not the Pyx or Hox, the huseldisc rather 
than the hilselhox, is intended in 49. Yet the distinction between these two 
sacred vessels {huseljatu) is very slight. Both Chalice and Paten are described 



iSt) Kinni.i'.s OF 'nil". i:\'i:ii: k kook 

l>v \Mh.liu, ' Di- K.isilu.i I'Alili.al.i .1 l!iis;i;f," /'. / . I.XWIX. Joo (citi'd hy 
Dictikli, l.i.) : 

Aun'us aU|Ur >.\li\ i;oii\niis (uli;i'siit <i|X'itiis, 

I'l i.U'liim lulil.il sirllis .inli'iit ilxis ,i|>tlim. 

Sic lata iuin'iilo (onsi.il l.iluU.il.i |i.iti'n,i, 

OiKU- iliviii.i i;iMiinl noslr.u' mnlii .miin.i vit.ic (scc^Q^'l. 

Tin- liiij; 'willioul .1 tonkin' (49 ) -"ul 'iluuili' (6o >), wliiih \cl liiiiiL^s by 
ils sili'iil sjx'ci li li> tlu' niiiuls ol' ii-\i'irnl lutii lhi>u;;lit (i| the S.ivioi ,iiul liis 
wiMUuls, m.iv will lie llic i inlc ol the !;oKlcii ('haliir m ul tlic r.ilcn. ri\i- i;i-iin 
ol l)olh liiKllcs is Icuiiul in Alilhclm \ i, .| , I. (/*.■ i'risi)i,il,-): 

l''l liii't rxti'iiuN lulik'iil (Ir ioi|ii>ri' i;i'mni.u'. 
Ahum iliiiu lulvis iI.im'm il Inill.i iiu't.illis. 
Si'il t.liiii'ii iilii'iiiis ilil.intm \i--.ri,i ii.\ss.i 
I'titis t|ii.i ^in'i ii"> ll.igi.il pull hri I ini.i rUiisli. 

To Alill\oln\'s i'i>ij;iu.i Tatwinc also is iiuKlncil (i- 1 .■, /';' /'/Av/a). Tlu' piicst, 
who is iiilroiUui-il in A';,/. 60, sii<;s;i'sls tlic Tvioli'so liiKllc ot' like lopii (Ki-iik, 
/....;'. r.f. r/:. V. 1.10, No. 17): 

hl\ sell' an cini'U ( >it, 

1 >i>i t M'lr i( li I'iiu-n Mann. 

\\\ lu'lit ilfin' mill nn'iiuMi X'ator 

Mit Iviili-n llaniU'ii .I.mI. 

{\\-\ riiostri, wcnii cr ilii- llostir i'ilu'l.t.1 

Wi'slwootl, /■'ii(s/>/i//rs. ]'>. loS, riles tioni llie /\\vc/ti>inat/tiii inannsiiipl (Tolt. 
Cloopatiii C. VI II) Ihc ti!;nit> ol a piiosl staiuliiig hefove an altai with a i liaTue 
in his iij;lit hanil (see also AiKl. MS. -V| 1 QO. oitod hv Westwooil, p. 107, ami the 
lioiifuii.ini lii.iwini;. SlintI, /A'/i/i;, pi. xxiv). 

491 Ihii- tiu' MS. u\uls /v7//^',7/,/',- ,."/. Klaehcr (.!/,'./. /'//.•/. 11, 1.15) u'jfrts 
the ('ill. anil W. /iriH:^ \^iTr'\i-Htiti]ri ami ii-ails /irini^i'titfeiui, ?)iJi\i>i o\ i7niii\i>i lu-ing 

,,'• ';,ii\i/: ,7r,'//,/i(i/t {rrrnjiii )i). ' Tlu' form {i;r)irrf/t//iin, it sotMiis, w.is mil in- 
tifipifntlv iisinl ; if. e.g., ///<• /i/r.'.v, ', ; (II.); A'/'i/f", 420, JJ (Ta.); \\ nllst.in, JO, 
10; .iiul till- snppicssion of the r may be regarded as a natural process (.1/. /. A'. 
Will, .-I |).' KI.uIh 1 I ites \V//f" //(•>■/>.<: Cluiiin^ 2.\, ' gcnivne I'fi. Ma'gNe, hw.vt |ni 
ameUloilest, I Inva't |'U geaMuladest aM .Morfoiil.i." 1 111. i\ note ,ilso Chiinii vi, 15 
(lln.W. />'//•/. 1, _^J(i). I'll ge.T-ndade heo I and .^iN.is swoi. 1 pufer the (n\. and W. 
reailing | u-r]i-//,ii;i/i. 

Kl.ieber restores ihe M.S. \rision of 49 ■ ; willi piopei ili\ ision of lines (see 
text). 

49 -■ ! liludo I slet'iio no ftriii<lc. A'/./, go-; furnishes, with the same idea, the 
s.ime nietiii-.il di\ ision : f'llx'fUiirf \ sUfnf stynni\ ('\. g ;'', liliule i irnie ; 584'', 
hliule > iim.iN. l''oi oeenrrenees of hluiic atefne^ see ^S/;-. 1 1, SS. (Irein's refeienccs 
show th.it hluJt- for /i/ru/iin (with this fern, inst.) is not so r.ue .is Sarra/in {/'ni^f. 
Slit J. XXXV 111, 1(10) would have us believe. 

4g ,! .( I'rehn (p. jj.|) notes in these lines the •p.ii.uloxe Misi living \ on teils 
\ oih.indenen, leils felileiulen (Iliedem" .mil lomp.ues A';./, ig, 34, 66 



N()ii:s i8i 

49'' IC;v'iM'. I'lif mystciii's of tlic I'lu(li;uist an- niciilioiiod hy /V'.lfiic (Tlioipe, 
llotiiiliis II, jf)S): ' \\'i.Nfil;iii lii l)i-()|> f^eseweiie lilfil and win xn>Sor j^i; on lilwe 
;ind on swa-cce, ac lil l)co|> sol'llie .-cfter iNSrc halgungc Ciistcs llcliania and his 
blod I'liili j^asllkeif gciyini.' 

49 i>'' I't'iuliiii j;i»I«l«'H. Comparo 60 ii>', goldes tficcn. I'licsts were foil)icldfu 
by tiie Canons to use conininnion-vcssels of horn or wood: 'And wilaS t'a;t bco 
Sic calic gcworiit of myltendum anlinibru gilden oXSe seolfren, g!a;sen o'lVSe tinen,. 
ne bco he nil liyrnen, ne lifuu treowen (/I'^lfric's Pastoral Epistle, 45, Tliorpc, .■/. /,., 
p. 461); ' Hl'o liis calic tiac of clivntini aniinibre geworht, nnforrotigendlic ond 
eallswa se disc' (/I'.lfric, Canons, 22, '1 lioipc, A. /,., p. 445). in liic itritisli Museum, 
among tlie Anglo-Saxon grave-finds, is a silver chalice of goo A.D., fioiu Tre- 
whidtlle, St. Anslell, ('ornwall (/Vcc. Soc. Aiiln/nitids, vol. XX). 

49 7 l>«'|>«>ii<-aii. 1 cannot regard the suspicious hapax, MS. i>i:/>iiiiiii>i, which is 
received into the text of Th., C,\\., W., as aught else than a scribal error for a form 
very common in both prose and poetry. 

K 11)1)1, 1': r,() 

I )ielri( li (X I, 475) suggested ' ( 'age,' but later (XII, 236-237), and willi botler 
reascjn, jjroposed ' llookcase.' This solution caps the cjuery at every point: ^n/nifn 
liiiiiin (50 t) recalls the Hook (27 2H), hiflchnin i^ifn: oml lultii^ sytl \ and the jirecious 
(onttnls or food of die Case (sofi-K) arc < Icarly llic sacred treasure of tiie olher 
ridtlle. As 1 have shown above (48 1'' ^), oui (|iicry belongs lo tlu; same (lass of 
problems as the enigma of the ' Hookniolh.' And (inally, as Dicliirli and I'rehn 
(pp. 225-226) have indicated, its last line associates l\i,l. 50 ilosely wiili Aldliclni ii, 
14, De Area Libra rm : 

Nunc niea divinis complentur viscera verbis ; 
Totaque sacratos gcstant pr;ecordia biblos ; 
.\t nun e.\ iisdcni iic(|ueo cognosicrr quii (|iiaiii. 

Trautmann, />'/>'. XIX, 183-184, regards Ixith h'iil. 18 and 50 as 'Oven' riddles 
and linds in them these traits in common : both work by day ; both swallow ; both 
conceal costly treasures ; men covcl tin- roiilcnts of both (so ho wrests 18 n, men 
i;;emini(iii, into men i{e7oilni<iei'). lint A'/i/. 18 is a ' Mallista' proldem {sn/>ra), and 
the likenesses to 50 are superfic iai. 

50 1 aiiiic. Boc-eyst is fern., and l>di-lior<l 'AwtX hdc-i;estreon neut., while fjtir sub- 
ject is masc. lUit grammatical gender is usually disregarded in the Riildles. 

50 1 K<»F>«'^- f-rein, .S/;-. I, 520, accejits the reading of the MS. and defines 
doubtfully either as 'servus' (pointing to (). jN. liert^opa, 'serva bello lapla '; cf. 
j;w/(7//, 'capere ') or as ' lislig.' wiili nfncnce lo ,(,'v"v//, ' callidus.' Against the first 
etymology, sjieaks the lengtli of the vowel in the ])resent word; against the 
second, the tlifficully of associating phonetically .i,'('/ and .i,'r?r//. The second deri- 
vation fits, however, both meter and sense: ' eines kundigen (says Dietrich XII, 
237), denn das sc hreiben war eine angesehne kunst.' Cf. boc-enrftii^. 

50 .1-5 se woiiiia l^c^K". | Hweart oikI Haloiieb. According lo Hrooke (A. A. 
/.//., p. 136), this is 'the swart thegn with tin- dusky face' who works with the 



1 82 RIDDLES OP^ THE EXETER BOOK 

student in tlie monListery ; and comparison with 13 4, s7oearte U'calus; 13 8, wo^ifeax 
Wale\ 53 0, woitfdh \\'aU\ 72 10, sweajtiim Ityrdc, suggests a servant of Celtic blood. 
But as /t'.c" would hardly be used of one of the lowest class, and as eorp, ' brown,' 
(1. 11) refers clearly to the hoc-cyst itself, it is perhaps better to explain this with 
Dietrich (XII, 237) as 'der schrein aus eichenholz mit eiserneni schloss und 
schliissel versehen.' In this case, it will be necessary to regard sciidc& . . . Iiim 
(5-6) as reflexive. With siceari oiid saloneb cf. 583, swearte, salopade {^stvallcnvs). 

50 6 goldo (lyrran. Dietrich (XII, 237) cites Ps. iiS 127, l-a me geonie synd 
golde deorran {the vords of God). 

50 7-s Compare the love of princes for books in the ' Membrana' enigma, MS. 
Bern. 611, 24 1, ' Manibus me perquam reges et visu mirantur.' 

50 S Jjii't cyn. I do not believe with Dietrich (XII, 237) that the word refers 
to the books, but that the riddler has in mind those who turn to tlieir advantage 
(cf. 27 27, to nytte) the precious volumes (• that which the dumb brown one, ignorant, 
swallows'). 

RIDDLE ;■)! 

Dietrich (XI, 475) and Prehn (pp. 226-227) give the answer ' Dog'; and find 
the source of the riddle in Aldhelm i, 12, De Molosso: 

Sic me januludum rerum veueranda potestas 
Fecerat ut domini truculentos persequar hostes, 
Rictibus arma gerens bellorum praelia patro ; 
Et tamen infantum fugiens niox verlx'ra vito. 

Here, as in the .Vnglo-Saxon problem, the subject is a mighty warrior; here he 
stands in fear of a child, as there of a woman, llerzfeld, p. 69, objects that of 
diDiibuiit t'UHVn I to?-ht atyltted (11. 2-3) does not suit the Dog; an objection which 
loses some of its force when we reflect that ' dumb ' is often applied to beasts 
{And. 67, |>a dumban neat). Tor/it seems, however, better suited to Ilerzfeld's 
solution ' Fire.' According to that scholar the two dumb things which beget the 
subject of the riddle are the two stones which are rubbed together (cf. Kemble, 
Sij.xoiis in England I, 35S). Or perhaps we may accept the explanation of the 
Royal MS. (12, C. XXIII) glosses to the first line of Aldhelm's 'Fire' enigma 
(v, 10 i) 'Me pater (ferrum) et mater (silex) gelido genuere rigore' (see Rid. 41 
7S-79). Cf. Bern MS. 611. 23 1-2 {Aiit/i. Lat. I, 35S) : 

Durus niihi pater, dura me general mater : 
\'erbere nam niulto hujus de viscera fundor. 

To Kid. 515-7,0-10, llerzfeld finds 'a remarkable parallel' in the well-known 
passage of Schiller's Glocke : 

Wohlthiitig ist des Feuers Macht, 
Wenn sie der Mensch bezahnit, bewacht, 
Und was er bildet. was er schafft, 
Das dankt er dieser Hinimelskraft ; 
Doch furchtbar wird die Hinimelskraft, 
Wenn sie der Fessel sich entrafft, u.s.w. 



NOTES 183 

Traiitniann claims to have arrived independently at the ' Fire ' answer, which 
meets all the conditions of the problem. The ' Fire ' riddles of other literatures 
{//ei&reks Gdlitr, 29; Schleicher, p. 19S ; Chambers, p. 8) are quite different from 
this. 

/•'yr is neut. and the subject of Kid. 51 masculine; so the riddler may have 
had llg, masc, in mind; but grammatical gender is little considered in the Riddles. 

51 i'' So the Water in 84 i is rcnndnim dceinied. 

51 .f^ IT'ond his tT'on<l<>. Cf. note to 44 n^. 

51 s Avri'd'. Ilolthausen (Aiiglia, Bh. IX, 358) suggests, for sake of meter, 
wrt\^e\& ; but the non-syncopated form of 3 sg. pres. of wri&an is, of course, 
~wri&c& (see Madert, p. 62). 

516 J»f'owaJ» . . . po<?iiia?f. Cf. Met. 29 77, henaS ond t'iowa'5. 

51 7 mspgefl' oiul iiia'cgas. Cf. Gii. S33, mxgS ond mascgas. — mid gemete. 
So Be (no. 7 So. 

51 s fedaJV liiiic fiegre. Cf. 54 4, feddon fsgre ; 72 5, fedde mec [fSgre]. For 
the same idiom cf. 13 lo-n, wyrmeS . . . fiegre, etc. — he him IVemum stepe<J. 
Stepan with dat. pers. and inst. thing is found (Je)i. 1S59, 2306, 2365. 



KIDDLE 52 

' Dragon ' is Dietrich's answer (XI, 475-476) ; and the subject of the problem 
invites comparison %vith the Draca of the .^^t??^/^^ (2302-2315, 2335 f.). Of the 
three characteristics of the epic monster pointed out by Schemann {Die Synotiy/na 
im Beoivulfsliede, Hagen, 1882, p. 51), two appear in our Riddle: the flying in the 
air and the guarding of a treasure (Prehn, p. 228). The latter is also mentioned 

in Gil. Cot. 26-27 '• 

Draca sceal on hlaiwe, 
frod, frffitwum wlanc. 

The resemblance to Eusebius 42, De Dracone, is so slight as to preclude all idea 
of borrowing ; it consists in the likeness between the swift flying of our creature 
and the line, 

Concitus ethereis volitans miscebitur auris. 

Says Stopford Brooke, E. E. Lit., p. 52, note : 'A new touch is added by Cyne- 
wulf. The dragon dives into the waves and disturbs the sea. Like the dragon 
of Heowulf [?], he has paws with which he walks the earth. These are the four 
wondrous beings with which the riddle begins.' 

Trautmann's first solution, ' Horse and Wagon,* though a common theme in 
riddle poetry (Woeste, Zs.f.d.M. Ill, 186; Germania X, 69), fits only the first 
two lines of our problem ; but his more recent answer, ' Pen and Three Fingers ' 
{BB. XIX, 195-19S), is not only very apt, but is confirmed by many analogues, as 
I have shown (J/. L. A". XXI, 102). The relation of the 'four wights ' (i b) is men- 
tioned not only in Tatwine's enigma, No. 6, De Pettna, ' Vincta .tribus ' (Gloss 
'digitis'), but in Aldhelm iv, i 4, ' Terni nos fratres (Gl. " tres digiti scriptores ") 
incerta matre (Gl. "penna") crearunt,' and in the 'Pen' problem (19) of Cam- 
bridge MS. Gg. V, 35 (printed by me. Mod. Phil. II, 571): 'Tres gemini repunt 



1 84 RIDDLES OP^ THE EXETER BOOK 

stimulati marmore pellis.' Upon this the glossator comments, ' Tres digiti dis- 
currunt in pagina, stimulati, cum acuta penna, vel graphic, vel planitie.' The same 
motive appears in two ' Pen ' riddles from the German and Italian Tyrol, cited 
by Petsch [Palat'stra IV, 135), ' Drei fiihren und zvvei schauen zu ' and 'Due 
la guarda e cinque la mena,' in both of which the eyes watch the work of the 
fingers. The ' black tracks ' (2 b-3 a) are found not only in Eusebius, De Pcjiiia 
(No. 35), 'vestigia tetra relinquens,' which our riddler did not know, but in 
Aldhelm's pen query v, 34, 'vestigia caerula linquo,' and in the ninth-century 
' Lorsch ' riddle. No. 9 i^Haiipts Zs. XXII, 260), 'tetra . . . linquit vestigia.' 
The interrelation of these Latin ' Pen ' enigmas is discussed at length by Iibert 
(ib. XXIII, 200). It is interesting to compare with this motive the description 
of the Pen, sijmde sruearildst, in Phi. 27 11', a riddle which furnishes other paral- 
lels to our problem [infra). The 'black tracks ' appear as 'black seed in a white 
field' in the riddles given by Petsch (I.e.) and by Wossidlo (No. 70, notes). The 
other motives of Pid. 52 will be discussed below. 

Notice the common complaint of mediaeval scribes, cited by Wattenbach, Scltrift- 
ivesen (1S75). P- -35 • ' Calamus tribus digitis continetur (or " tres digiti scribunt ") 
totum corpusque laborat.' 

52 4 Here the MS. reads ftigiiim friimra fleotgan iyfte. Thorpe suggested 
in a note fromra, and Grein- framra. Either of these readings may be ren- 
dered 'more rapid than the birds' (cf. Diclit., p. 234). Grain co\\\&c\.\\\&s Jleotga 
('schwimmer') on iyfte ox fii'ot geoiid lyftc. Wiilker (Assmann) retains for the 
second half line the MS. reading; while Trautmann (^BB. XIX, 195, 197) pro- 
poses fugla fullum, fleag geond iyfte. One abandons re\uct2int]y f/gium fro/nru, as 
it is not only very close to the MS. reading, but is supported by 4166, ic maeg 
fromlTcor fleogan )>onne pernex ; but Trautmann's /}/^/rty>//////« makes intelligible 
a difficult passage, by supplying a subject to -aiirs (1. 3), and is sustained by other 
descriptions of the Quill, 27 7, fugles wyn, and 93 27, se he jer wide bajr wulfes 
gehlel'an (;-<?rr;/). This emendation is, however, very violent ; so I suggest ///////w 
fromra, which meets equally well the sense of the passage ('the sujjport of the 
swift ones' — compare 92 1, brunra beot) and is only a slight change from MS. 
fiigium friimra. Fiiitum is used of wings. Met. 3 18, nabba'5 hi at fuNrum fultuni. 
To Trautmann's fieag geotid iyfte, I ■p'^eiex fieag on iyfte; cf. 23 15, on Iyfte fleag. 
See also Tatwine 6 3 {Pen^ia), ' Nam superas quondam perni.x auras penetrabam.' 

52 5 (leaf under yjje. So 74 4''. The passage corresponds in thought to 
279-10 (Pen), beamtelge swealg | streames dSle. 

52 5''-6 With Dri'dg Trautmann begins a new sentence. By 'winnefide wiga 
he understands ' not the hand but the arm of the scribe, first because 7viga points 
to a masculine word, and secondly because the arm is more properly called a 
fighter than the hand.' It is hard to feel the force of these arguments. Personally 
I prefer the ' hand ' interpretation. 

52 6'' se liiin >veffas ttecnej?. Cf. 4 16'', he me wegas tsecneS. 

52 7 ofer fieted gold. Dietrich's discussion of this phrase {Haitpts Zs. XII, 
251) is partly invalidated by his misinterpretation of the riddle's meaning; but as 
yiF/, ' plate,' is found Bcoiv. 716, 2256, there seems no reason to doubt the correct- 
ness of his conclusion (ib. XI, 420) \\\7lX fJ:ted gold'xs ' der alte epische ausdruck 



NOTES 185 

gewesen fiir das gold in plattenform oder in bliitterform.' The adjective occurs 
ten times {S/r. I, 273-274), and the phrase is met in the Andreas and Beowulf 
(see also I/itslht/ufs A/essnge, 1. 35). If ' bracteatus ' is the equivalent oijated, our 
phrase applies admirably, not to the gold of the inkpot, as Trautmann supposed 
{liB. XIX, 197), but to the illuminated page of the manuscript. Some of the 
receipts for gilding in this age have been preserved by Muratori and are cited by 
Sharon Turner (IX, chap, vii) : for the embossed gold letters a foundation was 
carefully laid in chalk, and leaf gold [ft7 ted gold'] was then employed. Gold is 
associated in the A'/ddlcs not only with book-covers (27 13), but wi-th the man- 
uscript itself (68 17, 92 4). See notes to 27 15. 

RIDDLE 63 

Several answers have been offered. Dietrich (XI, 476), Grein {Spr. II, 368; 
Germaitia X, 308), and Prehn (pp. 278-279) unite upon the solution ' Two buckets 
bound by a rope which a maid carries,' and I sought to support this by ana- 
logues {^M. L. iV. XVIII, loS). Walz {Hm-t'ard Studies \ ^ 265) suggests 'A yoke 
of o.\en led into a bam or house by a female slave,' but this smacks of fatal ob- 
viousness. Trautmann offers first ' Broom' {Attglia, Bb. V, 50) and later ' Flail' 
{Aiiglia XVII, 396; BB. XIX, 19S-199). He thus defends his second solution: 
' Die beiden gefangenen sind der stiel und der kniippel. Sie heissen treffend 
gefangene, well sie an einander gefesselt sind. Die fesseln sind der riemen, der 
zwei-, drei- oder vierfach durch die ose des stiels und durch die ose des kniippels 
geht und so beide telle des dreschflegels mit einander verbindet. Dass beide 
hart sind, wird niemand bestreiten. Die dunkelfarbige Welsche, die mit dem 
einen der gefangenen enge verbunden ist und beider weg lenkt, ist eine welsche 
magd oder sklavin, die den stiel des flegels in der hand halt und drischt.' In 
AI. L. A'. XXI, 103, I have accepted this answer. 

'Chief among the winter duties was the threshing performed in the barn, and 
although it was to some extent carried on in the autumn, yet the bulk of it was 
finished during the winter. The scene in the Calendar picture for December is 
a threshing scene (Strutt, Ilorda, pi. xi). Wheat, rye, barley, peas, beans, and 
vetches were all threshed, and, next to plowing, threshing was the most important 
of the farm employments. The grain was bruised with flails similar to those now 
in use, and it was winnowed by hand' (Andrews, Old English Manor, p. 250). 

The flail is mentioned in the Gere/a list, to odene fligel\ and in the Glosses, 
WW. 107,2, i^i, \6, /icrscel, 'tritorium.* Heyne, Filnf Bilcher II, 54 f., discusses 
at length the Old Engli.sh flail and threshing-floor. 

53 1-2 In raeced . . . under hrof sales. The threshing-floor is mentioned 
several times in Anglo-Saxon writings: WW. 147, 14, 'area,' breda J>iling \<i\ Jior 
on to J>erscenne; Matt, iii, 12, * a.re2.m,' />yrscel/ldre (Lind. MS. beretun, a signifi- 
cant rendering, as barley was the staple of the North); and Gen. Iv, 10 'aream,' 
hirscejldre. Of the herebrytta we are told, R. S. P., § 17, Schmid, p. 380: ' Bere- 
bryttan gebyref! corn-gebrot on h.xrfeste aet bernes dure, gif him his ealdormann 
ann and he hit mit getryw'San geearnoS.' The threshing of the barley is described 
in Rid. 29. 



l86 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

53 I In rjeced fergan. Trautmann regarded rivced at first as a dative without 
the ending, but, after Walz's objections, is inclined to consider it as the accusative 
form i^BB. XIX, 199). As he rightly says, the case of this word has no effect 
upon his solution. Both scholars have failed to remark that the same idiom 
appears in 56 1-2, ic seah in heall[e] ... on flet beran. 

532'* under hrof sales. Cf. Gen. 1360, under hrof gef or. 

53 3 genamnan. MS., Thorpe, and Grein read genamne. This Dietrich defines 
'gleichnamig' (compare O. H. G. giiia/iiNO, M. H. G. genaime, O. N. nafiii, 'name- 
sake,' 'companion,' Graff II, 1085). Grein is inclined {Sp7-. I, 434) to derive the 
word from genafne (see naftc and nafol), and would render ' arete conjuncti.' 
Holthausen {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 209) follows Dietrich's definition, and reads 
genaiHiicui, which is the MS. form in J\id. 54 13 (infra). Thorpe was the first to 
propose geniinine, which has been adopted by Trautmann, who renders 'gefesselt,' 
and by Assinann (Wiilker). 

53 6 wonfah Wale. See 13 s, wonfeax Wale (my note). 

53 7'' benduni ftestra. Cf. And. 1S4, 103S, 1357 ; ////. 535, 625, bendum L-estne. 

RIDDLE 54 

Dietrich (XI, 476) answers, ' Battering-ram.' Brooke, who accepts the solu- 
tion, thus summarizes the poem {E. E. Lit., p. 125): 'The Battering-ram wails 
for its happy life as a tree in the forest and for all it suffered when it was 
wrought by the hands of man ; yet at the end, like the spear \_Rid. 73], it boasts 
itself of its deeds of war, of the breach it has made for the battle-guest to follow, 
of the plunder which they take together.' Very similar in transformation motive 
are the riddles of the Book (27), Ore (83), and Stag-horn (93). The Oak and Ship 
queries of Germany (Wossidlo, No. 78), deal with a like change in the lot of the 
tree. Dietrich and Prehn (pp. 229-231) point to the 'Battering-ram' enigma of 
Aldhelm, v, 8, which has, however, an entirely different aim — a pun upon 'Aries.' 
The only likeness — which is strong enough to indicate similarity of topic — is be- 
tween Kid. 54 8''-io* and Aid. v, 8 5, ' Turritas urbes capitis certamine quasso ' (see, 
however, Symphosius 84, Malleus, ' Capitis pugna nulli certare recuso '). The 
{P)aries logogriphs of the monks [AT. L. iV. XVIII, note), have nothing in com- 
mon with our query. Trautmann's 'Spear' is a possible solution. 

Keller [Old English Weapon A'anies, p. 66) notes that there were three kinds 
of ram in use among the Romans, the first suspended, the second running upon 
rollers, and the third carried by the men who worked it, often consisting of a 
mere wooden beam with a bronze or iron ram's head at one end for battering 
down the walls of the besieged town. No description is to be found in A.-S. 
literature, the word ra??i being found only in the glosses a few times among 
lists of war-equipment. Keller, p. 219, cites Cura Past. 161 6, Sersca'S ^one weall 
mid ramum. In O.E. CAjj-j-^j- (Napier), 'aries' is in a list with ' ballista.' In ./Elfric, 
Gra/nmar 12 4, 'aries,' by& ram betwux sceaputn and ram to loealge-iveorce (WW. 
141, 24, 'aries,' ram to tvurce); but this ram is perhaps a tool of the mason or 
wealhvyrhta. See Heyne, Die Halle Heorot, p. 20, who discusses our riddle. 

On what a mighty scale some of these rams were built we may judge from 



NOTES 187 

Abbon's account of tlie siege of Paris by tlie Danes in 8S5 A.D. {De Bellis Paii- 
siiicijt' C'r/u's I, 205 f., Pertz, Scriplores Rerum Gerviaiticarum, 1871, I, p. 13): 'The 
Danes then made, astonishing to see, three huge machines, mounted on sixteen 
wheels — monsters made of immense oak-trees bound together; upon each was 
placed a battering-ram covered with a high roof — in the interior and on the sides 
of which could be placed and concealed, they said, sixty men armed with their 
helmets.' For an exhaustive description of mediaeval battering-rams, compare 
Schultz, Das hdfisclte Lcben II, 349 f., 371. 

54 I f. Professor Cook, The Dream of the Rood, p. L, has pointed out the 
affinity between the opening lines of the riddles of the ' Battering-ram ' and 
'Spear' (73) and the beginning of the address by the cross (^Dream, 28-30 a): 

J>ffit waes geara lu — ic \>'xX gyta geman — 
Jjffit ic wres aheawen holtes on ende, 
astyred of stefne nilnum. 

'In all these we are reminded of the Homeric scepter {Iliad \, 234 ff.), "which," 
said Achilles, " shall no more put forth leaf or twig, seeing it hath forever left its 
trunk among the hills, neither shall it grow green again, because the ax hath 
stripped it of leaves and bark." ' 

54 2 treow waes on wynne. Cf. ITar. 55, se J'egn wxs on wynne ; Beow. 2014, 
weorod waes on wynne. In Run. 37, the yew is called icyii on e&le (see Rid. 92 3'). 

54 3 wudu Avoaxonde. Cf . Hy. 4 105, wudu mot him weaxan. 

543-4 The same theme is treated in the riddle's mate, 73 1-3. 

54 4 ft'ddan ftCgre. Cf. 518, fedaS hine faegre ; 72 5, fedde mec [fiegre]. — frod 
dagum. Cf. 73 3, gearum frodne ; 93 6, dasgrlme frod. 

547-8 hyrstuiu . . . gefra't\ve<l. Cf. 15 n, hyrstum frastwed; 3220, fraetwed 
hyrstum. 

54 10 See text for many readings suggested in place of MS. hy an yst, which 
is unintelligible. I prefer to read hyonyst\_e'\ siritdon, ' they plundered in a storm 
(of battle) ' — a very natural metaphor in an enigma (cf. shorn- in Chaucer; Krapp's 
note to And. 1133, scfirheard). In the Skdldskaparmal, § 4S {Snorra Edda i, 416) 
the battle is called 'a tempest,' ve&r vdpna. — strudon hord. See Beozu. 3126, 
hord strude. 

5412-13 The 'b\':rs. f^r genamnan finds threefold support in the meter, in 533 
(MS. genamne), and in a certain gap in the sense occasioned by the reading of all 
the editors, /ier genam \ nan. But as an a.cc. ge nam na ft cannot be construed with 
any possible sense of the verb n'ehan, ' to venture,' I accept Dr. Bright's sugges- 
tion, ,^<f«<7;««a, and thus interpret the passage: 'The second was quick and un- 
wearied, if the first, a comrade in a tight place, had to venture into danger.' 
Holthausen's emendation [<w] far {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 208-209) is, as Dr. 
Bright points out, unnecessary, since gen'ehan is used more than once in the 
present meaning with the simple accusative: Met. 1359, slo sunne . . . uncuSne 
weg I nihtes geneSel'; cf. Beoit'. 889, 1656, 251 1. The reading /«•>;-, 'journey,' is 
barred by the macron of the MS. To the proposed genamna Bright prefers 
genitmne, Thorpe's suggestion (53 3); but the adopted form is reasonable in its 
origin, and is sustained by both passages. 



1 88 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

RIDDLE 00 

Dietrich's 'Oven' and Trautmann's ' Churn' fit equally well Nid. 55; but the 
weight of modern riddle-testimony is on the side of the second solution. Haase 
offers a similar German query of the 'Churn' {Zs.d. I'./. ]'k. ID, 75, No. 58): 
' Unse lange diinne Knecht pumpst unse dicke Diern.' Compare, too, Carstens, 
Zs.J. V.f. Vk. VI, 419; Eckart, Nos. 59, 86, 427, 905; Wossidlo, Nos. 138, 144, 
many references, 434 u. Despite Dietrich's note (XII, 239), wagedan bfita seems 
to me more fittingly said of churning than of the oven-feeding of the baker's boy, 
and the last lines (lo-i 2) well describe the ' growing ' of the butter. The riddle has 
much in common with the other obscene problems — particularly with 45 and 64. 

The cyrn or Churn and the cysfict are mentioned in the Ger?fa list, 17 
{Anglia IX, 264); and the shepherd of /Elfric's Colloquy (WW., p. 91) tells us: 
' melke hig tweowa on d?eg . . . and cyse and buteran ic do.' The use of milk and 
butter among the Anglo-Sa.xons is considered by Klump, pp. 16-18, 59-60. 

55 1 Hyse c^voiii gaiigan. Cf. 34 1, wiht cwom . . . in>an ; 86 i, wiht cwom 
gongan. 

55 .: stoiidan in ■\vinole. This reading of ('.rein, 7i>iiicle for MS. loiiic sele, finds 
strong support in a riddle of the same class, 46 i, on loiiicle (MS. on 7oin cle, ex- 
plains confusion in our passage). Though unnsele is sustained by the association 
of so many of our riddles with the wine-hall (43 16, 47 i ; 56 i, in heall[e] I'Sr hxleS 
druncon, 57 n, etc.), yet in such a half-line as stondan in 7vtnselc it is metrically 
objectionable, as double alliteration is demanded in this form of the A-type 
(_^ X X I _^Ox). For this reason Ilolthausen, Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 209, pro- 
poses stondan on stafjolc-, citing in support Dream, 71, Beoio. 927, /\id. 88 7. But, 
as stondan in uunclex'^ metrically unimpeachable, there is no need of violent change. 

55 3-4 See 45 4-5- 

55 5 stTjM's iiatlnva't. Cf. 62 9, ruwes nathwa't ; 93 25, eorpes nathwa't. 

55 6 Avorlitc his willaii. Cf. 64 7, wyrceS his willan. 

55 8 tillTf osiio. So 64 5. Esne is here the servant ol J>egn (1. 7). 

55 10-12 These lines describe the butter, the 'fettes kind' of the similar Meck- 
lenburg riddle (Wossidlo, No. i3Sb). Lines 55 11-12 have something in common 
with 50 7-s. 

55 10' -NvfTig pfes -weorcps. Barnouw, p. 215, notes that ivcorces is used here 
in a double sense, ' des coitus und des butterns,' and compares 43 4, )>a.'s weorces 
= hSmedlaces. 

RIDDLE oG 

This problem has found many interpretations. Dietrich's first answer, ' Shield' 
(XI, 476), he afterwards changed to 'Scabbard' (XII, 235, note). This solution, 
which has much to recommend it, is accepted by Brooke, who says {E. E. Lit., 
p. 123) : ' Another portion of the sword is also described when Cynewulf, making 
a riddle on the scabbard, tells of its fourfold wood ; and then, in his fancy, likens 
the sword-hilt to the Cross of Christ that overthrew the gates of Hell and to the 
gallows tree on which the Outlaw is hung.' Trautmann (/>/>'. V, 50) without reason 
proposes ' Harp.' An ingenious explanation of the problem has been offered by 



NOTES 189 

Felix Liebermann in presenting tlie solution ' Gallows ' or ' Sword-rack ' {Ilerrigs 
Archiv CXIV, 163). According to him, these are the conditions of the query: 
' A wooden object is meant. It is portable. It appears at the feast. It serves the 
rich warrior. It receives (.') his sword. It is connected with precious metals. It 
bears the form of the Cross (in the old broader meaning for which only a verti- 
cal pole with a cross-piece is necessary). Its name also serves for the gallows. 
The word consists of four letters, with which the names of the four kinds of 
trees begin — (h)l, a, i, h.' By word-play, Liebermann believes, ialh might well 
stand {ox gealga, as /could be written iox gc (Sweet, History of Englisli Sounds, 
p. 145 ; cf. Bede's Death-Hymn, 1. 3, hinioiiga). He adds, doubtfully, that the poet 
may have had in mind the compound gealgtreow, and therefore considered only 
the root of the word. This seems far-fetched, but is certainly not a whit more 
forced than Dietrich's interpretation of Rid. 37. The second difficulty, the asso- 
ciation of Gallows and Cross, is no difficulty at all, as ' the viordgealga is used in 
all the early Germanic dialects to designate the cross on which Christ was crucified ' 
(compare Kluge, Etym. ]VtbI\ s.v. Galgen; Krapp, Andreas, pp. 125-126). The 
greatest objection to this answer is that the name ' Gallows ' is nowhere connected 
with a sword-rack; but, since in Modern English this name is applied to various 
objects consisting of two or more supports and a cross-piece (yV. E. D., s.v.), the 
association is not improbable. Jordan, Altengltsche Sdugetiernatnen, p. 62, reaches 
independently the same solution as Liebermann : ' War vielleicht ein reich ver- 
ziertes, einem Kreuz oder Galgen ahnliches Gestell gemeint, an dem Waffen 
aufgehangt wurden wie Verbrecher am Galgen.-" Personally I do not believe that 
a logogriph is intended or that the riddler had in mind a sword-rack. 

The answer ' Cross ' meets all the conditions of the problem. Lines 12-14, 
which are responsible for Dietrich's ' Scabbard ' and Liebermann's 'Sword-rack,' 
refer, I think, to the restraining influence of the Cross over men's passions, and 
may be rendered ' The cross (wolf's-head tree) which often wards off (see Sweet, 
Did., and B.-T. s.v. dbadaii) from its lord the gold-hilted sword.' I do not believe 
that our riddler owes aught to Tatwine's enigma No. 9, De Cruce Cliristi (see, 
however, Ten Brink, Hanpts Zs., N. S., XI, 55-70): 

\'ersicolor cernor nunc, nunc mihi forma nitescit ; 
Lege fui quondam cunctis jam larvula servis, 
Sed modo me gaudens orbis veneratur et ornat. 
Quique meum gustat fructum, jam sanus habetur, 
Nam mihi concessum est insanis ferre sahitem ; 
Propterea sapiens optat me in fronte tenere. 

Neither here nor in Eusebius 17, De Cruce, is there a single trait in common 
with our riddle. Though there is no actual likeness between the description of 
the cross {Rid. 56) and that in the Dream of the Rood, yet the enigmatic manner 
of that poem, ' involving quasi-personification and an account in the first person,' 
so closely resembles the mode of the Riddles that Dietrich, who believed our 
collection to be the work of Cynewulf, used the similarity of method as an argu- 
ment in favor of his authorship of the Dream in the Disputatio de Cruce Ruth- 
-wellensi, 1865, p. 1 1 (see C"ook's Dream of Rood, 1905, p. l-)- Professor Cook has 



IQO 



Ki 1)1)1. i:s oi' I'lii': I'.xi'/n'.K hook 



pointed out tliat the opening oi tlie address by tlie rood {^/^renm, 2S-30 a) shows 
a special atlinity to AV,/. 54 and 73, ' Hatleiinf; ian\ ' and ' Spear ' (see my notes to 
those lidilU's). 

561 ie s»'ali 111 lieallleli S0601. |m'i- liicleA druiicoii. S05711. (7.2112, 
Im'I liy nu'odii iliimaiN; 68 i.', I'.vr j;uni.in diumon; 64 ,i, I'.er i;uni.in tliii\>aiN; 15 u, 
I'ivr weias iliuu ,iN. 

56 .^ oil lie! IxTiiii. S0571.. tT'<»A\ cr c^'iina. See note to 56 m n. (I he \vot)ils 
of the emss). 

56.1 \vu<liit r»>o\\ . l''oi the use oi tii-oi(< in the A'Av/t-, as a s\non\n\ of /i',/ ai\d 
I'iiini (see 565, lode lain; 56 ;■, ha-s beaines), cf. Cook's note to ('///. 7Ji). 

56 .<-4 The adoininei\ts ot the suhjett reiall those i>f the Sword in A'/,/. 
21 6-S, I) 111 (l'iflii\, p. -70), l>nt they it-.cinlile iiuitc as i loscly the liiMSuies of 
the Cross in othei poems: /■'.'. cjo, goKle _i;i'};leni;cd ; ginunas li.vtan ; /*/(■<////, 
6 f., Mall hat luaien was | lie^oten mid golde ; gimmas stodan ; see also /.V. 
10J3-IOJ7; Jhc-iiiii, i.t-17; -"3, mill sini'e gegyiwed; 77, gyredon me i;oKie and 
seolfie. 

56.1 soarol>iiiul«Mi. This is a nonce-usage; hut see . ///./. I3i)(', se;iiwum 
gehunilen ; A'iiL 57 .s*'. sciiwuni | taste gehunden. 

56 S7 Cook (C/iris/, pp. wii, 130; J>rt-<if/i, p. .15) furnishes the following ex;im- 
ples of the treatment of ilie llairowing of llell theme in Anglo-Saxon literature: 
in the poelrv, the /Airrcioi/ix t>/ //c'//; Chr. .\!;f., 145 f., 558 f., 730 f., I l 50 f. ; /.'/. 
iSi, j()5 -07(.^), 1)05-913; (ill. io74f.; Ph. 417-4J3; (/<•//. 1076; J^>,-iU/i, 140; 
AV./. 561-; /\i>i. 5Sf. ; Cit-eii, 30 f. ; in the i>iose, Martyroloi^y (ller/feld), p. 50; 
Wulfstan, pp. 2J, 145; AV. /A'w., pp. S5 Sc; ; .V.lfric, lloiii. i, 2S, 2i(>, .(So; ii, (>. 

56s |»!i>s Aw'.i A'' ("ejus ipn"). See M.ideit, p. S.p For other instances of 
attraction, iinupare 41 iii', 44 i.. 

56 >-i' Cf. (Itii. 1675, .ind to heofnuni up hkedie i.vulon. ' 

56 7' burn fibruHT. Cf. Dan. 03, hie Inug.i gehwone abrocen ii.efdon ; Md. 
I iS, rdirocen burga cyst. 

56 .)-ii' W. O. Stevens, TJu Cross in the Life anil Literature of the .-lni;/o-Sii.vons, 
1904 ( ]'ii/e Studies in /\ni,'/ish), p. 10, discusses the kinils of wooil of which the cross 
is coi'npi>sed. .\niong his H'teiencis .ue the tollowing. Clii\soNtoni .ipplied to the 
cross the words of Is.u.di 1\, 13: 'The glor\' o{ leb.mon sh.dl come unto thee, 
the til tree, the pine tree, .uul the bo.v. together,' etc. In the C.oklei\ 1 egend (see 
Morris, A'. A'. /. .V X l,\'l, pp. jo, 70), the upiight p.trt is of ced, 11, the cross-beam 
of cypress, the piece on wliivh the leet le^ted of p. dm, .md the sl.d) of olive. 
I'seudo Hede tells us (7*. A. XCl\', 555, L'l'ores): 'The Cioss of the l.oid w.is 
m.ide of four kinds of wood, cypress, cedar, pine, .mil bo.v. l?ut the bo.v. w.is 
not in the cross uidess the tablet was of that wood, which was above lite biow 
of (hrist, on which the lews (.^) wrote the title, " Here is the King of the lews." 
The cvjMess w.is in the e.iith .md e\i-i\ to the t.d>let, the ced, 11 in the ti.msverse, 
the pine the upper end." In A';,.''. 56, the four woods aie ash 01 i\i.iple ('■/;//), o.d;, 
h.ud yew, ,ind tlie d.irk holly, .Vs Stevens observes, 'Kvidenily the question was 
still .» m.itter of individual specidation.' See Meyer, ' Die Cieschichte des Kreuz- 
hol/es vor Christus,' .tf>/iandliitii:en Jer /■, /<avr. .U-a,/. ,/er ll'/ss., A AV., XVI, 
l!d. 11, Mimich, iSSi; K.impers, J/itteAi/ter/iehe Sa^en Toni Paraaiese iind votn 



NOTES 191 

Holze lies Kreuzes C/iristi, Cologne, iiS97; Napier, History of the Holy Kooit-trce 
(I-:. K. 7'. .v. CI 1 1, 1894), pp. 43, 47-50, 68. 

564 hllii. 'Dei- alte Name des Spilzaliom.s, ae. ////«= ah d. IhnhouDi geriet, 
well der Haum selbst in England fehlte [note, "In der kontinentalen Ileimat der 
Angelsach.sen kam der Baiim vor "], bei den Angel.sachsen allniiiiilich in Vergessen- 
heit ; er isl nur noch einnial in der I'oesie belegt und da natiiriicli als Feldahorn 
zu verstehn, die einzige Ahornart, die den Angelsach.sen bekannt war.' (IIoojjs, 
W'b. II. A'/>.y p. 272.) — m*. 'Der vornelim.ste Charakterbaum der altenglischen 
I.andschaft war jedenfalls, wie noch im heutigen England, die Eiche, die iiberall 
bis nacli ileni Norden Scholtlands hinauf verbreitet war uiul bui zahheichen 
Ortsnanien (Jevatter gestanden hat' (Hoops, //?'. ii. A'/)., p. .259). It is iiUerest- 
ing to note the passage in the Runic /'oi'»i (77-80) in which the Oak is e.\tolled : 

Ac by)) on eor|)an elda bearnum 
fla-sces fodor, fereb gelonie 
ofer ganotes hx\> ; gSrsecg fanda'S, 
liwa?Ser ac hxbbe ffil'cle treowe. 

The close connection between kennings and riddles (see Introdnction) is strik- 
ingly illustrated by a comparison between the functions of the Oak as a 'feeder 
of flesh ' and a ' ship ' in this Runic verse and those in the world-riddle of ' Oak ' 
(Wossidlo, No. 78) : 

Als ich klein war, eriiahrti'ii micli die grossen; 

Als ich gross war, eriiiihrt' ich die kleineii ; 

Als ich tot war, trug icli die lebendigeu wol.l iiljer die lelieiidigeii. 

— 8C iK'urda I\v. ('ompare with this tlie description of the yew in 7<!iiii. 35-37 : 

Eoh by(N utaii unsmet'e treow, 
heard, hriisan fa'st, hyrde fyres, 
wyrtrumum underwrejjyd, wyn on e))le. 

'The Yew ("Taxus baccata," O.E. tw, eow) is native to the British islands. It 
is frecpiently found in the postglacial peat-bogs of England and Scotland, and 
must have been widely extended in historic times. We meet its name occasion- 
ally in Old-English " Flurnamen '" (Hoops, IP^b. u. A'p., pp. 269-270). The Yew- 
tree is the subject of one of Aldhelm's enigmas (v, 5, De Taxo). 

56 10 s«' IValwa liolcii. The /lo/en is identified by Hoops {lV/> 11. Kp.,^^. 256, 
616) with the • Stec hp.ilnie ' or ' Ilex ac|uifolium.' That this was native to western 
Europe and fust ajijiears at the end of the oak-period. Hoops shows, ib., pp. 30-31. 

5612 ^vuIfllea!'<•<ltl•eo. The li'iilfes-lu-afoii ox 'wolfshead' is the legal expres- 
sion for an outlaw, who may be killed like a wolf, without fear of penalty (see 
Grimm, RechtsaUertiimer, 3d ed., p. 733). So in the law of Edward the Confessor, 
Cap. 6, § 2 (Schmid, p. 494), ' Lupinum enim caput geret a die utlagationis suae, 
quod ab Anglis 7olueshe7>ed nominatur.' Compare Hracton, De Legibus et Coiisiie- 
tiidiiiiluis Aiigliae, 159, lib. Ill, tr. ii, chap. 11, ' Et tunc gerunt caput lupinum ita 
quod sine judiciali inf]uisitione rite pereant.' 

Jordan, Aitciiglisilie Siiiigetit-riiaineit, p. 62, riglitly o]3i)oses Dietrich's earlier 
solution '.Shield' (XI, 476), and says: ' Richtiger fasste Orein '.onlfhciifodtrco 



192 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



als identisch mit 7i/tw;y;-<;(/ "Galgen," "Kreuz," denn 7viilfheafod bedeutet "Ver- 
brecher, Geiichteter." ' The two significations of ' gallows ' and 'cross ' are in the 
mind of luisel)ius, 17, J^e Criice: 

Per me mors adquiritur et bona vita tenetur. 
Me miilti fiigiunt, multique frequenter adorant ; 
Siimque timenda malis, non sum tamen horrida justis. 
Damnavi virum, sic multos carcere solvi. 

— iibiicd. TlKM-pe suggested dbdd, ' awaited.' ('.rein regarded dbild as = dbirde&, 
'exigere,' 'adigere' {Dicht. ' bezwingt '). In this he is followed by B.-T., who 
renders 'repel' or 'restrain' (cf. Sal. 478, dlhcde). Ilerzfeld, p. 60, regards the 
word as ' dialectische nebenform des I'raes [Praet?] ahead'; so Madert, p. 44. 
Liebermann, Archh C'XIV, 163, translates 'abforderte (erlangte).' I accept Grein's 
explanation of the form, but translate, both here and in the Salomon passage, 
'wards off {supra). The cross restrains the sword. 

56 13 niaffm in healle. Cf. Beo-c 1529, deorum maJime {s-word); W'aldere A. 
24, maSma cyst {s7vord). The adornments of the Sword are described at length 
in Rid. 21. 

56 14 f;i<'*'<^<*s. Merbot, Aesthetisclie Studien zur afigelsdr/isLulieii Foesic, p. 26; 
in his discussion of the various meanings oi gied, points out that in this place the 
word means 'a riddle,' and compares Gu. E.x. ^, gleawe men sceolon gieddum 
wrixlan. He raises the question whether the Anglo-Saxons were not as fond of 
riddle combats as the old Hindoos. 

56 15 oniiif'de. Grein, who reads o>t m?de, translates {/^icli/.) 'wen es anmutet.' 
In Spr. II, 229, he regards tnede as opt. pres. of medaii, impers., ' muten,' ' in men- 
tem venire.' Thorpe reads onm?de\ and B.-T., following him, renders (s. v. oiiini-dan) 
'to take upon oneself,' 'to presume.' Cosijn, PBB. XXIII, 130, reads onmede 
('sich vermesse'), and compares onmidla,geanmcttan. Liebermann, Arcliiv CXIV, 
163, reads on m?de ('sich unterfangt '), and Holthausen {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 
209) follows Cosiiu. 

RIDDLE 57 

We may set aside unhesitatinuly Lange's 'Turning-lathe' {Ilaiipts Zs. XII, 
23S, note), and Trautmann's ' I'lail,' and accept Dietrich's solution, 'Web and 
Loom,' which he establishes beyond question by an account of the old vertical 
weaver's beam, derived from the description and illustration (tab. xii) in Glaus 
Olavius's Oeconomische Reise diircli Island, Dresden u. Leipzig, 1787, pp. 439 f. 
'The ivinnende it'tlit is the web; and the warp or chain hangs vertically from 
the beam, the old jugum, and is stretched underneath by stone weights. The 
upper end of this is wrapped around the beam and is therefore biidficst (1. 7) ; 
but the lower end, which is the more readily woven and wound from above 
the more it pushes up, is moved in the work {bisgo dreag), because it floats in 
the air (1. 8, leolc on lyfte), and is near the ground only at the beginning. The 
warp now suffers from a threefold stress of war : first, through the curved wood 
which moves to and fro {Itolt /nveorfendc') and carries through the threads of 



NcrrKS 193 

the woof, but is no shuttle, only a simple wood {wido) — and indeed a 7t'i((h< 
sear'u'um ficste ,t,'t'l>it>iticn, . . . because the thread is skillfully bound about (in Old 
Norse it is called wittda). Secondly, the woof receives wounding blows (1. 3) by 
means of the Sclilagbrct, O.N. skci&, a sword-like board which the weaver swings 
in his free hand, in order to strike fast the inserted threads. In the third place, 
spears {daro&as) are also an evil to the creature, because through the middle of 
the body of the warp are stuck five transverse pieces, of which the three upper- 
most are called the shafts, and the two lowest the parting-shaft and the parting- 
board. The tree that is hung with bright foliage (1. 9) is the upper beam upon 
which the roll of the still unwoven yarn hangs. The relic of the fight is the web, 
which, perhaps as gafol hiullel, is borne into the hall of the lord.' Dietrich also 
notes (XI, 476) the verbal likeness between this contest and that in the spinning- 
song of the Valkyria in the A'jdls Saga, chap. 158. Weinhold, Altnordisches Leben, 
1856, pp. 320-321, cites both Olavius and the AJdls Saga, and draws from the An- 
tiquar Tidskrift, 1S46-1S4S, p. 212, a description of a Faroese loom: 'An dem 
Webebaume {n/r), welcher drehbar auf zwei Pfosten (k/ei/iar, lei)ier') ruht, ist die 
Kette (gam, gadii, renniiig, reudegarnet) unmittelbar und nicht durch die Traden 
(Jiovold) angemacht. Das Werft wird durch eine Stange in der Mitte, die auf 
zwei Pflocken liegt und iiber welche die Kette gezogen ist, gespannt, am meis- 
ten aber durch die Gewichtsteine {klidsteiiiar), welche unten an die einzelnen 
Fadenbiindel gebunden sind. Ein grosses lanzenformiges Gerat von Fischbein 
{skei&) dient den Einschlag festzuschlagen, welcher durch einen scharfen Knochen 
{Jirall, ralur) in Ordnung gehalten ist. Es wird stehend gewebt.' This serves to 
explain many of the riddles of the Islenzkar Gdtur, which are suggestive ana- 
logues to Kid. 57. /. C. 60 considers six objects: (i) Weight-.stones; (2) Threads; 
(3) Ildfbld; (4) Fingers; (5) Rifur ('the beam on which the warp is hung'); 
(6) Cloth. There are in this collection various riddles of weaving and spinning : 
one of the Wefstoll (657), one of the IVe/sta&iir (1082), five of the IVe/ur (49, 
976, 982, 983, II 10), two of the Kifur, 'beam' (339, 851), two of the Skei& (644, 
1088), three of the Ullarkambai- (79, 81, 82), ten of the Kokkur, 'distaff' (447, 
499> 536' 737' 798,912, ion, 1133, 1140, 1147), and three of the Sna-lda, 'spindle' 
(383, 576, 853). Still another interesting analogue is the Lithuanian 'Loom' 
riddle (Schleicher, p. 198) in which 'a small oak with a hundred boughs [cf. 
Rid- 57 9-10] calls to women and to maidens.' Our riddle seems to owe noth- 
ing to Symphosius 17, Aranea, or to Aldhelm iv, 7, De Ftiso, although Prehn, 
p. 232, seeks to find likeness between the Latin and the English; and the parallel 
furnished by Aldhelm iv, 3 3-5, (see Rid. 36, Mail-coat) lies in the nature of the 
subject. 

Parts of the Loom and phases of weaving have already been considered in 
the notes to 36 5 f. The Gere/a list (Ang/ia IX, 263) mentions ' fela towtola, flex- 
linan, spinle, reol, geamwindan, stodlan, lorgas, presse, pihten, timplean, wifte, 
wefle, wulcamb, cip, amb, crancstnef, sceaSele, seamsticcan, scearra, nSdle, slic' 
See Liebermann's careful rendering and discussion of each of these 'tools' (I.e.). 
In the Vocabularies (WW. 262) is a long list, ' De Textrinalibus,' 'Textrina.' For 
the work of the weaver and his various implements, see Klump, Altetiglische 
Ifandwcrknamcii, pp. 22-32, 73-89. 



194 KIDDLKS OF 'niE KXKTKR BOOK 

57 1-4 ]>rooke, A'. /•'.. Lit., p. 151, lenduis with spirit : 

I was tlien within, where a thing I saw ; 

'Twas a wight that waned wounded by a Ix-ani, 

15y a wood that worked about ; and of battle-wounds it took 

Gashes great and deep. 

57 .• ^vl<l<>. 'I'his fuuls its West Saxiin ecpiivalent in iviidu. Tlie regular 
Northern form would he '.ciiui'ii. And Madert, p. 128, believes that the absence 
of the u-unilaut of / points to the beginning of the eighth century. As icidu 
appears in the Meters of /Klfred, 1355, it is evident that the conclusion thus 
drawn is not of the highest value. — boiinegeaii. Only here and 93 i(>, bennade. 
Gebeniiiaii, too, is found only in 6 2, gebennad. 

573 lioa]>t)j?l»'>'»'»nt foil-'. The direct obj. ol fon is always ace. except in 
this ])assage and in Sal. 43J (see Shipley, Geititive Case in Aiiii'lo-Saxoit Poetry., 

V- y-Y 

57 t (h'opra <l<>lj»a. (."f. .///(/. i-.||, deopuni dolgslegum; Rid. 54 i', deope 
gedolgod. 

57 -t-d The best comment upon these lines is ft)untl in RiJ. 36 7-S. The -lonJit 
(1. q) corresponds to the liruteiuie hrlsil (36 7); and darohas (1. 4) may well be the 
ilinas (MS.), the 'reeds' or 'slays,' of the earlier riddle. As a parallel to durojxis, 
Dietrich (XII, 23S, note), points to the song in X/d/s Sai^'-ti, chap. 15S, str. 4, 5, 7ce/ 
darrn&tir. It is barely possible that the image is suggested by the double mean- 
ing of Lat. te/d, 'web' and 'darts.' 

57 5 Avoo. Is this for ?>'i^ ((-n.), or 7i'<v/ (15. -T. s. v.) ? Sweet, Diet., does not give 
the wortl, 

57 5-(i searwiiiii . . . ^vebmidtMi. Cf. .-liid. 1396, searwum gebunden ; Kid. 56 4, 
searobunden. 

57 S^ loolc oil lylto. So Gen. 44S a. 

579-10 Andrews, Old /^//x'/isA Muiior, p. 275, nt>te, regards 'the tree with 
bright leaves' as 'the reel with the colored yarns or web' (see Dietrich, si//r<i). 

57 10-12 liilV . . .011 lU't Ix'ran. In />(<'?i'. 005 f., in the great wine-chamber, 
' there shone variegated with gold the webs on the walls, many wonders to the 
sight of e.u h of liie warriors.' The Saxon term for a curtain or hanging was 
tiHlhrift\ and in tlie will of W'yntl.ida (Thorpe, Diploniatariiini Aiii^lieum, 530, t,"^ 
we fnul the becpiest of a long hetilhivdhrifl and a short one. So Aldhelni describes 
a web in his poem {De Laiidihits J'ir!:^iuiini) : ' It is not a web of one uniform color 
and texture without any variety of figures that pleases the eye and appears beauti- 
ful, but one that is woven by shuttles, filled with threads of purple and many other 
colors, flying from side to side and forming a variety of figures and images in differ- 
ent compartments with admirable art.' Cf. also De Laudibns I'irginitatis xxxviii, 
Giles, p. 51. For a discussion of the various products of the Anglo-Saxon loom 

— garments, tapestries, curtains — see lleyne, Fitiif Biieher III, 207-252. He cites 
(III, 237) Tanl the Deacon's History of the Lombards W, 22: ' Vestimenta linea, 
qualia Anglisaxones habere solent, ornata institis latioribus vario colore contextis.' 

— ]>iT'r ha'I«']> (Iruiu-oii . . . on Ih't boraii. Sarrazin, Beoivulf-Stiidien, p. 120, 
compares Beoio. 1647. Cf. 56 1-2. 



NOTES 195 

57 11 My reading /><Trii //(?//[<;] seems to be supported Ijy such a line as A/. 
285 b, ^i7ni Icodix. Alliteration upon the second stress in A-type is common (95 
examples in the Riddles) ; compare 41 8H, fiara he worhte waldend user. The stress 
not infrequently (sometimes tlie alliteration) falls upon the article; see Beow. 
807, on Sjeni dx-ge |>ysses lifes. 



KIDDLE m 

This little swallow-flight of song has invited many answers. Dietrich (XI, 477) 
suggested first 'Swallows' or 'Gnats'; and afterwards (XII, 240, note), on the 
authority of Pliny x, 35 (24), he proposed ' Starlings.' Sweet (Aii,iflo-Saxon 
Nendt'i\\>. 20S) accepted the second solution; and rreim (pp. 233-234) the third. 
Brooke queries the answer 'Starlings' {E. E. Lit., p. 148, note): 'The stare is 
not particularly a little bird, nor is its note sweet. The bird seems to answer best 
to the " Martin.'" I prefer the solution 'Swallows' for two reasons. Urst, they 
fulfill all the conditions of the riddle. The poet saw them, as Brooke says (I.e.), 
'rising and falling in flocks over the hills and cliffs, above the stream where the 
trees stood thick and over the roofs of the village, and the verse tells how happy 
he was in their joyousne.ss, their glossy color and their song.' Secondly, Kid. 58 
has at least two traits in common with Aldhelm vi, i, Ilirnndo. Line 4 of the 
Latin, 'CJarrula mox crepitat rubicundum carmina guttur,' is not far from sanges 
rofe . . . Itlndc tinna& {/\id. 58 3'', 4''), and line 6, ' Sponte mea fugiens umbrosas 
quaero latebras,' from treda& bearonccssas {Rid. 58 s'"*). See the Aeiteid passage 
cited infra. The three solutions of Trautmann seem to me equally extravagant: 
he first {Angliii, Bb. V, 50) propo.sed 'Hailstones'; then {Auglia XVII, 398) 
'Rain-drops'; and finally {BB. XIX, 200), by the dangerous petitio principii of 
changing lytle (58 1'') to lilite, ' Storm-clouds.' I have refuted these interpretations 
and sustained the ' Swallows' solution {^f.L.A'. XXI, 103). The riddle is clearly 
one of the bird group, as parallels in phrasing to Rid. 8, 9, 11, and 25 show. 

58 I Dpos lyft byro'O. This phrase is used elsewhere in the Riddles of the 
flight of birds: 8 r'''. Swan (note); 11 9, Barnacle (loose. 

58 2^ oft'i" Ix'orghloojm. Alexander Neckham, /)e A'atiiris Reriiiii, chap, lii 
(Rolls Series, 1863, p. 103), says of swallows: 'Quaedam enim domos inhabitantes 
in eis nidificant . . . quaedam in abruptis montium mansionem eligunt.' As I have 
noted. A/. L. N. XXI, 103, this may well apply to the Cliff Swallow, Iliruttdo fulva. 

58 2-3 Our poem finds an interesting analogue in the well-known lines of Virgil 
{Aeneid, xii, 473-477) = 

Nigra velut magnas doniini cum divitis acdes 
Pervolat et pennis alta atria lustr;it hirundo 



Et nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc humida circum 
Stagna sonat. 



In commenting upon this passage, Gilbert White of Selborne uses words equally 
applicable to the English riddle (Letter XIX, Feb. 14, 1774): 'The epithet 
A'igra speaks plainly in favor of the swallow, whose back and wings are very 



196 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

black [compare 58 2-3, hiace sun^e, \ srvearte, salopade'\, wliile the rump of the mar- 
tin is milk-white, its hack and wings blue, and all its under part white as snow.' 
Note also the iirl vdra fx^Xatva of the Rhodian carol of the Swallow, preserved 
by Athenaeus (Hook viii, chap. 60). 

58 3' -salopside. The word is a nonce-usage, but s<!/{o)':i'/^'-/i7i/ is used three 
times in the i)oetry, in each case of a bird, the eagle or raven [Fatt-s, 37 ; Jiicf. 
211; Ihnii. 61). 

58 3'', 4'' Saiiges rofe . . . hludc oinnacV. Both Virgil and Aldhelm apply to 
the swallow the epithet 'garrula'; and Gilbert White tells us (XVHI, Barring- 
ton), 'the swallow is a delicate songster and in scjft sunny weather sings both 
perching and flying.' Indeed its 'pipe and trill and cheep and twitter' (Tenny- 
son's Princess) is among the best-known of bird-songs. The song of the swallow 
is mentioned elsewhere in Old English. Whitman, Birds of O. E. Lit., p. 161, 
cites Life of St. Gutlilac (Godwin), 52, 7 : ' IIu )>a swalawan on him sieton and 
sungon. Twa swalewan . . . heora sang upahofon.' lilsewhere in the Riddles, 
hh'ide cirme is used of the song of a bird (g 3). 

58 4-(' It needs no Virgil or Aldhelm or Neckham (see references, supra) to 
tell us that swallows ' fare in flocks ' and that they are found ' in remote and se- 
cluded woods and swamps as well as about the habitations of men.' 

58 6 NeninaO' liy sylfe. This has been variously rendered. Thorpe proposes 
'Name them yourselves.' In Spr. II, 280, Grein wavers between ' Sagen selbst 
wie sie heissen ' and ' Sagt wie sie heissen ' ; but translates in Diclit. 'Nun meldet 
ihren namen.' So Trautmann, i5/?. XIX, 200: ' Nennet sie selber.' Brooke, /:f. iT. 
Lit., p. 149, renders ' Let them call their own names.' I prefer the Thorpe read- 
ing, because the verb-form is the 2d pi. imperative, and because swallows are cer- 
tainly not onomatopoetic like cuckoos and bobolinks. 

RIDDLE ;")!» 

Dietrich (XL 477) offers the solution ' Ziehbrunnen,' 'Well with a well-sweep,' 
which has been accepted by all scholars. ' This has one foot, the prop upon which 
the cross-beam rides, moreover a long tongue (the pole at the upper end of the cross- 
beam, which carries the bucket down), it has a heavy tail (the stone weight which 
helps to press down the lower end of the cross-beam and to raise up the bucket), 
it paces the earth-grave (the dug-out well), and carries !as;iifdd (hyperbolical for 
water) into the air.' Dietrich, reading /><rd'///« for the Vl^. fiirinit, suggested as 
the three rune-letters {Rtd. 5914-15), the three consonants of bur)ia; but Grein 
{Germaiiia X, T,oq), reading fttltiim, makes the happier suggestion of Rdd-pyt 
{Spr. n, 363, Reitbrunnen, d. i. Ziehbrunnen mit einem Schwengel) which meets 
perfectly the conditions of name and thing. Miiller, Cbtheiier Pro(^7-a>?t/ii, p. 17, 
sustains Dietrich's rdd-hiirna by pointing to 'Radbourne' in Derl^yshire and 
' Redboum ' ; but these names prove little, as not the 'well ' but the 'brook' or 
'burn' is their etymological source. Holthausen, who reads (/. F. IV, t^^-j) fitrnia 
for MS. ftiriim, suggests rod instead of Grein's rdd-pyt. Then it is the pole or 
well-sweep that is described. Rod in the sense of ' pole ' appears only in the 
compound sei:;l-rdd. Prehn rightly mentions in this connection Symphosius 71, 



NOTES 



197 



Puteiis, and ~i. Tubus; but tlie relation lies only in the likeness of Kid. 
59 11' -12-^ to the third line of each, ' Et trahor ad superos alieno ducta labore ' and 
' In ligno vehitur medio, quod ligna vehebat.' The interesting ' Puteus' enigmas of 
Virgil's third eclogue and of Scaliger (Reusner I, 170) have nothing in common 
with RiJ. 59; while the Low German Put or 'Draw-well' problem (Woeste, 
Zs.f. d. M.\\\, 191) interests us only by its title and by its allusion to its steert 
(compare Rid. 59 7 steort). 

In an illustration of the marriage feast of Cana in a Cotton manuscript of the 
early twelfth century, Nero C. IV (Wright, Domestic Manners, p. 86; Knight, 
Pictorial History, p. 284), a servant raises water from a well by means of a loaded 
lever. Wright comments upon the drawing thus : ' It may be remarked that this 
appears to have been the common machinery of the draw-well among our fore- 
fathers in the middle ages — a rude lever formed by the attachment of a heavy 
weight, perhaps at the end of the beam, which was sutificient to raise the other 
end and thus draw up the bucket.' Wright refers to illustrations of this in manu- 
scripts of various periods, and presents in cut No. 57 an excellent drawing from 
MS. Harl. 1257 of fourteenth century. 

Aldhelm thus mentions the draw-well or puteus {/)e Laudihus I'iri^iiiuni, 
Giles, p. 142) : 

Xec putei laticemspernendum ducimus altum 

Antlia qiiem sursum solet exantlare cisternis. 

591 anfetc. The word is a nonce-usage; but the riddle-subjects in 33 6, 81 3, 
93 25, have also one foot. 

59 2 Wide lie ferecT. Cf. 4 71, wide fere ; 95 3, fere (MS. fere"5) wide. 

59 3 Cf. 32 S, no hwacl're fleogan ma;g ne fela gongan. 

59 4 J7urli scTrne <la'g. Cf. Met. 2022c;, Jnirh ha sciran neaht. 

59 5'^ iiaca iia'sledbord. Cf. Gen. 141S-1419, na>gled bord, |faer seleste ; Brun. 
53, naegledcnearrum. 

596'' nionegiiiii tlduin. So Gu. 89. Cf. 402, miclum tidum. 

59 9''' iseriies «1}S1. Cf. 564'', seolfres dSl. 

59 13-14 The spirit of comttatus in the Kiddles has been discussed in the 
Introduction ('Form and Structure'). 



KIDDLE (iO 

This ri<ldle of the ' Chalice ' or ' Communion Cup ' has already been discussed 
in connection with its fellow, 49, the ' Paten.' Dietrich (XII, 235, note) thus ana- 
lyzes the poem: ' Als kelch ist der goldene reif (v. i, lu-int:;; 5, 'icri^an) bezeichnet 
theils durch die benennung Ileliand der guthandelnden (v. 7) die er von dem 
betenden (priester, v. 3-5) eriialt, indem die iibelhandelnden von seiner gemein- 
schaft ausgeschlossen sind, theils durch das geheimnisvolle aber den einsichtigen 
(v. 2, 9, 10) verstandliche sprechen seiner wunden (v. 11, 16) d. h. des fiir die 
menschen vergossnen blutes des heilandes, welches er darstellt unci nach den 
friih im mittelalter gehenden geschichten von wunderbarer verwandlung, im 
weine enthiilt. Was sie sprechen, indem der kelch, noch nicht der gemeinde 



198 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

entzogen, von den handen der manner gedieht und gewendet wird (v. iS), das 
ist die mahnung zur gegenliebe und dankbavkeit gegen den erloser den des 
edelen goldes zeichen (7-10) vergegenwartigt,' etc. 

60 1 Cf. 56 1, ic seah in healle. — hrinj?. See 60(1,17, 49 i,s. 

60 j'' inodiim {•ieawe. So .-Is. 190. Cf. Cc-//. -373, gleaw on mode; .V<//. 439, 
modes glcaw. 

603 tY'r)'Jnim Irotle. Cf. 2721, feite I'y fiddran ; Exod. 355, Wand. 90, F.l. 
46^, /u/. 553, on fer'6'e f rod ; AV. 1164, frodne on ferh^'e. For the construction 
with />a-d, see Shipley, p. 26. 

604' (lod iu'r<>i'iulo. Cf. C//r. 361, nergende God. 

60 5'' Avord ii'i'tei" c^A'se'S. So />c-c>7l\ 315. 

609 lu eagiia gesih'S. Cf. .•///</. 30, eagna gesihS; IJ'oid. 66, eagna gesih'5; 
C///-. 1 1 13, fore eagna gesyh'S (llerzfeld, p. 18). 

6011-12 In favor of the reading that I have adopted in the te.xt these argu- 
ments may be offered. 0/id Dryhtncs do/i^ don (MS. diy/it did<^do>t) is supported by 
67/;-. 1 205-1 206, Drylttiies . . . do/g; and by a similar reading in T^IS. 852, dri/it 
for drilitcn (see note). The transference of dd)i to the second half-line completes 
the othenvise defective s^vd J^us Kujgcs. No fault can be found with the line as 
emended, ond drylitnes dolg, don s'uuT J>tcs f'Pagcs. This readjustment involves in 
the next line the change of MS. ne nurg hic>£ bene, a very faulty half-line, to ne 
/><7;v bene vurg, for the sake of the alliteration. These slight changes not only 
greatly improve the meter and sense of the passage, but supply the two gaps in 
the Grein-NViilker text. We may now render 607-12 as follows: 'Brightly into 
his mind the dumb thing (the Chalice) brought the name of the Lord, and into 
his eyesight, if he was able to perceive the token of the very noble gold and the 
wounds of the Lord, (and) do just as the wounds of the ring proclaimed.' 

60 13 uiijii'THllodre. Grein, Dic/it., S/r. IL 621, renders ' unerfiillt,' and 15. -T., 
p. 1 107, 'unfulfilled.' I accept this translation, for three reasons: (i) it retains 
the case of the MS. reading, ungafuIlodre\ (2) it is justified by the meaning of 
gefulUan, 'to become full, perfect,' in />V. Horn. 191.23; (3) it is demanded by 
the sense of the absolute construction (11. 12-14): 'The prayer of any man being 
unfulfilled, his spirit can not attain to (seek) God's city,' etc. This seems to be 
far better both in form and sense than Cosijn's ungefiillodra 'of the unbaptized,' 
which, though a common word, departs from the MS., and is not in accord with 
the construction or meaning of the passage. 

60 15-16 Compare the closing formula of Kid. 44. 

60 iS -wloncra fulniiiiii. This recalls 31 5-6, where the Cross (or the Water?) 
is passed from hand to hand by the proud. 

RIDDLE 01 

Dietrich (XT, 452) has indicated by parallel columns the close correspondence 
between this 'Reed' problem and the Ariindo enigma of Symphosius (No. 2): 

Dulcis arnica dei, ripae vicina profundae (61 1-2), 

Suave canens Musis (61 S-io) ; nigro perfusa cokire 

Xuntia sum linguae, digitis stipata (Kiese. signata) niagistri (61 14-17). 



NOTES 



199 



Dietrich errs, however (p. 477), in liniiting the two riddles to the 'Reed-pipe' 
{/i-u'/s//c-). As Miiller, C. /'., p. 18, and I'rehn (pp. 236-23S) have pointed out, 
the last half of the Latin enigma and the last lines of the Anglo-Saxon doubt- 
less refer to the Pen ('calamus' or hreiydwrit). Brooke {E.E.Lit, p. 135) in his 
spirited translation of the major portion of /vV(/. 61, confines its application to 
'Reed-flute'; and Tadelford, who quotes the riddle in full {O. E. Musical Terms, 
PP- 5'~5-)' is evidently of the same mind. The Symphosius enigma is popular in 
literary history ; and the Kiinstrdtsel in various languages invite comparison with 
our version (J/. Z. A'. XVIII, 9S-99). An incorrect Latin text of the riddle is 
crudely rendered into fifteenth-century German in the Volksbtich version of the 
Apollonius of Tyre story (Schroter, Mittli. der dciitschen Gesellscli. ziir Erfor- 
schimgvaterl. Spracke, etc., V, 1S72, il, 66; cf. Weismann, Alexander, Frankfort, 
1S50, 1,80). In the sixteenth century Thylesius Consentinus (Reusner L 311) 
develops the Symphosius puzzle into a long-winded problem : ' Fluminis undiso- 
nas ripas praetexit arundo ' etc. It appears a hundred years later in an elabo- 
rately descriptive sixteen-line French version (Menestrier, La Philosophie des 
Images Enigmatiques, Lyon, 1694, p. 241): 

Je suis de divers lieux, je nais dans les forets, 
Tantot pres des ruisseaux, tantot pres des marais. 

Other explanations of our problem overlook completely its origin and ana- 
logues. Morley {English Writers II, 3S) suggested 'A letter-beam cut from the 
stump of an old jetty.' Trautmann {Anglia, Bl>.\, ^o; Padelford, p. 53) offers 
without discussion the answer ' Runenstab.' Blackburn, whose solution of Rid. 31, 
Beam, has already been presented, advanced the theory {Joiirn. Germ. Philology 
III, I f.) that Rid. 61 is not a riddle at all, but should be united with the poem 
that follows in the MS., f. 123 a, The Husband's Message, into a lyric, A Love- 
Letter. This view he seeks to sustain by translation and by dovetailing of parts. 
That Rid. 61 was ever classed among the Riddles was due, Blackburn believes, 
to a mistake of the Exeter Book scribe. ' He copied here from a manuscript in 
which the riddle (31 b) had been joined to the poem (61) on the supposition that 
it belonged with it, and in its solution is found an explanation of the mistake of 
some former scribe.' Cook and Tinker ( Translations from O. E. Poetry, pp. 61-63) 
follow Blackburn's arrangement. The theory is pretty and ingenious, but it calmly 
ignores the very real relation between Rid. 61 and Symphosius. 

As Padelford points out (p. 82), the pipe or whistle is mentioned more than 
once in the Anglo-Saxon glosses: /Elfric, Gloss., WW. 311, 22, pipe o&&e Invistle, 
' musa ' ; 311,27, Inuistle, ' fistula ' ; WW. 268, 20, 352, 22, wistle, ' avena ' ; 406, 23, 
519, 15, zi'istle, ' fistula.' Pipere o&&e h'cuistlere glosses ' tibicen ' in .(tlfric's Gram- 
mar, 40, 8, and elsew^here ; and reodplpere appears as a gloss to 'auledus ' (WW. 
190,7). The fistula — the true Latin equivalent of the reed-pipe and the Greek 
avpty^ (see //arper's Latin Diet., %.\. fistula, for many classical references to the 
reed, both as pipe and as pen) — is included among the musical instruments copied 
by Strutt (//orda, pi. xxi, i) and Westwood {Eacsimiles, pi. Ivii) from MS. Cott. 
Tib. C. VI, and the T'lOulogne Psalter, f. 2. 



200 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

6i 1-7 Brooke {E. E. Lit.,'^. 135) notes: 'The sixty-first riddle tells of a desert 
place by the shore, traversed by a channel up which the tide flowed, and where 
the reeds grew,' etc. Brooke compares with this the scenery of Rid. 23. As I 
have pointed out above, there is no doubt that the poet has in mind the 'ripae 
vicina profundae ' of Symphosius 2 i, although he wisely omits the reference to 
Pan in ' dulcis amica dei.' We may find a parallel in Shelley's Euganean Hills : 

Where a few gray rushes stand, 
Boundaries of the sea and land. 

Such beds of reeds as are here described are mentioned more than once by 
Anglo-Saxon writers (B.-T., s.v. kreodbedd): Guthlac, 9, Godwin, 50, 15, Da was 
'5Sr on middan '5am mere sum hreodbedd; Exodus ii, 3, Heo asette hyne on anum 
hreodbedde be hss flodes ofre. 

61 I sie^vealle neah. So Beow. 1925. 

61 2 set inerefarojje. Grein renders well, Dicht., ' an des Oceans Wellen- 
schlag.' See Krapp's discussion oi faro& and 7uaro& {Mod. Phil. II, 405-406). 

61 3 friiinsta]7ole fyest. The phrase is suitable only to reeds or plants ; cf. 
Gu. 1248-1249, sta)>elum freste . . . wyrta geblowene. See Rid. 35 8, 71 2-3. — fea 
lenig. Cf. Geu. 2134, fea ane ; Ps. 104 n, feawe . . . Enige. 

61 6 y5 sio brune. Cf. Met. 26 29-30, sTo brune | y5; And. 519, brune ySa. 

61 9-10 Much of the secular music of Old English times is associated with the 
beer-hall, as Padelford has pointed out (pp. 10-12). See the Bagpipe's part at 
the feast in Rid. 32 11-12. In an illustration in MS. Harl. 603 (Wright, Domestic 
Manners^ p. 34), the cup-bearer serves the guests with wine, while jninstrels make 
merry with harp and pipe. To cite but one of many examples from the poetry, 
this accords with the lines in the Fates of Men, 77 f. : 

Sum sceal on hearpe 
hselejjum cweman, blissan a-t beore 
bencsittendrum, Jiar h\\> drincendra 
dream se micla. 

Music and feasting are closely associated in Bede's story of Casdmon's life at 
Whitby {Eccl. Hist.'w, 24): 'In gebeoiscipe, honne haer wses bUsse intinga gede- 
med, )>3et heo ealle scealden hurh endebyrdnesse be hearpan singan.' These 
entertainments led to such excesses that the Canons of Edgar, 58, at the time 
of the monastic revival, forbid priests to be ale-poets {ealii-scop) and Wulfstan 
thunders against the beer-halls with their harps and pipes and merriment {Horn. 
46, 16): ' Hearpe and pipe and mistlTce gliggamen drema'5 eow on beorsele.' 

61 10 w^orduin ivrixlan. So Beozv. 875, Soul 117; cf. Mod. 16, wordum wrixlaS. 

61 10-17 The 'nigro perfusa colore' and the 'nuntia linguae' of Symphosius 
certainly suggest a pen ; and in the last lines of the Anglo-Saxon the riddler has 
evidently in mind, not music, as Brooke supposed, but written speech (1. 15 b, 
^rendspr^ce), which is hidden from all but the pen and his master. It is this 
reference to a letter that misled Trautmann and Blackburn. 

61 12-14 These lines, which describe the shaping of the 'calamus,' may have 
arisen from a misunderstanding of the ' digitis stipata (signata) magistri ' of 



NOTES 20I 

Symphosius ; compare seo swt/>re lioiul \ eorlcs higehonc, etc. The lines have not 
a little in common with Rid. 27 5 f. 

Wattenbach, Scliriftwesen, p. 189, cites Isidore, Orii^iiies \\, 13: ' Instrumenta 
scribae calamus et penna. Ex his enim verba paginis infiguntur, sed calamus 
arboris est, penna avis,' etc. So we are told by the letters in the gloss (MS. 
Royal 12, C. XXIII) to the hicerta tnaf/e of Aldhelm's 'Alphabet ' enigma, iv, i 5 
(Wright, Stitiriiiil Poets II, 549): 'Ignoramus utrum cum penna corvina vel an- 
serina sive calamo perscriptae simus.' Three kinds of pens were thus known to 
the Anglo-Saxon : the raven-quill, the goose-quill, and the reed. The first of 
these is described in the striking periphrase of A'/V/. 9326-28 (see notes); it is 
doubtless the second that is alluded to by the riddlers of 27 7 f. and 52 4 ; while 
the reed-pen {hreoihvrit) is the subject of the last lines of Rid. 61. Westwood, 
p. 35, pi. xiii, notes that the figure of St. Matthew in the Lindisfarne Gospels, 
Cott. Nero D. IV, is writing with a reed-pen. 

61 12 seaxes ord. Cf. 776, seaxes orde ; 276, Chr. 1140, seaxes ecg. See 
93 15-18. — seo swTJ^re honcl. See Spr. II, 511. 

61 14 J>ingum. Grein renders, Dicht., ' zu den Dingen ' ; and Spr. II, 593, 
'potenter, violenter (?) ' ; while Sweet and B.-T. suggest 'purposely.' The inst. 
thus employed is a nonce-usage. 

61 16 abeodan bealdllce. Cf. Har. 56, abead bealdllce. Only in this Riddle 
passage is this verb found with the uiil> construction instead of the dative. 



RIDDLE 62 

The subject of this riddle according to Dietrich (XI, 477) is ' Shirt ' ; according 
to Trautmann (^Aiiglia, Bh. V, 50), ' Shirt of Mail.' Trautmann is perhaps attracted 
by the picture of the early Englishwoman arming her lord for battle, but the tone 
of this poem, despite the blending of dignity with its dirt, hardly seems to warrant 
such a conception. Cyriel or Hrergl seevns to me to fit all the conditions of the 
problem {infra). No Latin sources or analogues have been discovered ; and the 
'Shirt' riddles of Strassburg Rb., No. 181, and the Recueil des Enigmes de ce 
Temps, Rouen, 1673, -^^i 77' ^""^ ^'^^ the Anglo-Saxon one only in pruriency. 

62 2 on earce. This is a reference to the hnegl-cyst, ' clothes-chest ' (Thorpe, 
DiplomatariuDi, 53^, 20). 

62 4 holdiiiii Jjeodne. Roeder, Die Favtilie bei den Atigelsar/iseii, p. iio, cites 
this passage as proof 'dass man die eheliche Gemeinschaft als ein Komitats- 
verhaltniss ansieht.' Other evidence of this conception of the marriage-relation 
is not wanting : ' Der Mann erscheint als der Herr und Gebieter der Frau : Gen. 
2225 nennt Sarah ihren Gatten driliten niln, oder er heisst ihr nian-drihien, 2242, 
. . . 2'j2() frea-dri/iten, ebenfalls von Abraham. 2783 apostrophiert ihn Sarah: nun 
swUs fr?a^ See also Beotv. wjo, freo-drihten niln (Wealhtheow to Hrothgar). 
Lawrence, Mod. Phil. V, 395, cites these passages to sustain the wifely relation 
of The Banished Wife's I.ainoit. 

625-6 Dietrich thus comments (XI, 477): ' Wer es anzieht steckt ihm dem 
umgekehrten den kopf ins innere. denn es wurde nicht von unten sondern von 



202 Ri 1)1)1. 1'ls oi" rill'; i:xi':'ri:K hook 

ol)eii her angezogen, clinch die kopfulTiuing, die daher miid. Iiouhctloch, bei den 
Noiwegein unci Isliiiulern /lo/ii&smii (hauptschmiege) hiess.' So Slrutt points 
out, //,'/■(/,!, !>. 1(1, tli:il • liu' liose-coat \_<y//i-I\ of the soldiers ami t:oiiinion ])(.M)ple, 
whiiii nai lull only lo tiic kiU'e, ajipi-ars from the foiin of it (pi. xv, 7, S ; Cott. 
('hunl. H. I\') lo lia\c hcfii put omt tlio hcatl like a sjiirt.' 'I'lie suhjett of our 
riddle is perhajjs the cviii'l — the liriCi^l of I he other obscene riddles, 45 .(, 55 .|, 63 0. 
Cvrtel 0&&e lirie}^i:l is the 1 ,indisfarne etpiivaieni of Matt, v, 40, ' tunicani.' Ilrd-i^l is 
also used of the rolu' of women (A'/f/. 46 4 ; /I'^lfred's Laios, Introduction, i 1, § 18, 
Schniid, pp. 5S, 80), and in l!i-oi(nilJ"\'> a synonym for />yriu\ 'the mail-coat' (Leh- 
mann, Ihiiinu- iiint llclm^ p. 1^). 

62'' on iiciiro IT'fido. C'f. 26.1, fegeN mec on fa-sten ; 63 s, on ncaro nathwair. 
In all three |)huis is the sanu' ( oarse suggestion. 

627 <ilir. . . «'ll('ii (l(*lil(>. i'liis is a common formula which is discussed at 
length by Kiapp in his note to .///(/. 45S-.i()0. C'f. </V;/. 12S7-128S, Drihten 
wisle I I'a'l I'as a'lNelinges elieii dohle ; A'/,/. 73.1, gif his ellen deag ; />',',';.'. 573, 
I'onne iiis elien deaii ; ./;/,/. .|0o, gif liis I'ilen deali ; etc. It is the OKI English 
version of the foiniula 'l''orluni' favins the bra\ e,' wiiich Cook derives from 
Latin lileialnn' (.1/. /. .\. \1 II, so). 

62 s nu'c l'r;r(\><MliH'. I lullji.iusen, />'/>. IX, 358, would retain MS. nice /net- 
'iOcdiic instead of luld. fri,/:>u-i/r. but lie iloes not e.xiilain how he would adapt 
this to the conle.\l. Tiie omission of /.r makes tiie construction clear. 

62s ■) nietricii notes (XI, 477): ' I'as raujie was es beim erwachsenen fullen 
soil, ist ilei- haarwuchs.' The (i'//(7was ofltn woin nt'xl to the skin, as, in many 
cases, it was tiie only garment; cf. .I'^freil's /.ii:i's, 3() (.Sclimid, p. (>::) ; 'Ciif nion 
iia'bbe buton iiufeald hra'gl hine mid to wreonne iiISNe to wciianne,' etc. 

62 <j rruvcs uiillnva't. (.'f. 265, neoj'an ruli nritlnvSr; 555, sti|>es nathwa-t. 
The obscene imjilication is obvious. — \i;vi\ Inva't \v iii;T>in'. Ci. Sal. 236, Saga 
hvva't ic mSne. The X//c>///i'// passage has oilier traits of a riddle besiiles this 
closing fornuila. 

KIDDI.I', (J;? 

Dietrich's first suggestion, 'nohier' (\i, 478), (its the (piery at every jioint 
save one: it is hard and sii.np, strong of I'liliaiue, swift in faring, clears a way 
for itself, it is urged on from Inliiiul, it is sometimes di.iwn out hot imm the 
hole, and sometimes fares again into the narrow place, lail how lo explain TCdi/c- 
itiiiter waiiibe (3 a), whicii haicllv seems suited to • l!orei ' 01 '(limlet,' unless the 
tapping of a cask or like work be described? Later ' iioiuer' liddles (cf. .sy/v/.f.!- 
/'//;;;,'■ A'/'., 170) are of a tlilfeient sort. \et, doulilful as it is, this answer, which is 
favored by Miiller, C. /'., p. 18, seems to me far less forcetl llian Dietrich's other 
answer, ' I'\)ot and Shoe' (XI,. 178), which sadly wrenches the meaning of the 
problem, better than either of these is Trautmann's ' Hrandpfeil ' {Aiii^lni, Jib. 
V, 50), if by this lie me. ins the onlin.uv ' I'oker" or ' l''ire rod.' This 'fares under 
the belly ' (of the o\ en), .iiid, held by the man's garment (on account of the heat), 
is pushetl violently into tlie lire, and is drawn out 'hot from llu' hole'; this satis- 
lies all the other demands of the riildle. The Ccrrjd list (.///<//./ IX, ^(13, 265) 



NOTES 203 

mentions Xhe fyrlatige, 'tongs,' the o/nrace, 'oven-rake,' and the iirdiidiren, 'and- 
iron' or 'firedog '; and there were doubtless other implements of hearth and oven. 

63 1'' liiiij^oiigi's strong. The MS. iiii^oiiges seems better suited to the sense 
of the passage, but /liiis^onges is demanded by the alliteration. It is thus equated 
W\\.\\ /07-&siJ>cs from (1. 2). 

632'^ for'OsIpcs from. Cf. If. M. 41, forSsI)>es georn. For the construc- 
tion oi from with gen., see 7327, fcringe from; And. 234, gfiSe fram (Krapp's 
note). 

63 3-4 Cf. Dream, 8S-S9, serl'an ic him lifes weg [ rihtne gerymde reordberen- 
dum." See also 54 8-10. 

63 5, In t,y& and tj>/i&, as in 64 2, 5, 6, onheon, beo^,, J>y^, the meter demands 
uncontracted forms instead of the contracted. For other examples see Madert, 
p. 53, and my Introduction. 

63 8 on nearo. Cf . 62 0. 

63 9 sri]7ernc socj?. In the AtlaH'i&a, § 2, the same phrase, seg,s^r iiiii sii&rq^iii, 
is ap])lied to Knefrii&r, the messenger of Attila. Cleasby-Vigfusson, s.v. sit&r- 
mci&r, Sii&rri/ci, points out that the word is used by the Scandinavians of Ger- 
mans, indeed of all people of central and southern Europe. In Old English, on 
the other hand, the epithet is coupled with a spear or javelin cast by a Norse sea- 
warrior (siermc) at Byrhtnoth in the Battle of Maldoii, 1. 134, sfij>ertie gar \ but 
is not ' from the south ' merely direction ? Though in the Glosses and Leechdoms 
the word may indicate plants and medicines from the south of Europe (B.-T., s.v.), 
I doubt if it carries any other idea here than that of ' foreign.' As the actor in 
one of the obscene riddles, ' the southern man ' is obviously in the same class 
as 'the dark-haired Welsh,' the churls and esnes, often people of un-English 
origin, who figure in these folk-products. There seems no reason to suppose 
that the word is used, like Chaucer's 'Southern man' {Canterbury Tales I, 42) 
and the later ' Southron,' of a South-Englander. Perhaps some personal or topi- 
cal reference is intended, in which case we might as profitably seek the identity 
of 'the man from the South' who burns his mouth with cold porridge in the 
nursery rhyme. 

RIDDLE G4 

As Dietrich points out (XI, 47S), this 'Beaker' riddle has much in common, 
with Aldhelm's enigma (vi, 9) De Calice Vitreo. Unlike the Latin writer, the 
Anglo-Saxon says nothing of the origin and little of the appearance (3 a) of the 
Beaker. But in both poems the drinking-vessel is a woman who yields readily to 
caresses; compare with 644-7 Aldhelm vi, 9 5-9: 

Nempe volunt phnes collum confringere dextra, 
Et pulchrae digitis lubricum comprendere corpus, 
.Sed nientes muto dum labris oscula trado. 
Dulcia compressis impendens bacchia buccis, 
.-\tque pedum gressus titubantes sterno ruina. 

The overthrow that follows kisses of the wine-cup is perhaps the theme of the 
fragmentary close of the Exeter Book poem. 



204 KIDDLES OF THE KXiyil'.R HOOK 

As I have already shown, Ilolmi- Riddles (No. 12S) otters a niodcin treatnieiit 
of the same motive : 

Q. As j was walking late at night, j tlirougli a window chanced to spy : a gallant with 
his hearts delight, he knew not that j was so nigh: — he kissed her & close did sit to little 
pretty wanton (iill until he did her favour get & likewise did obtaine his wille. 

A. A yong man in a tavern drinkirjg a (iill of sack to chear up his spirits & so ohtaind 
his will. 

Trautmann ignores completely the history of the riddle in his answer, ' Flute.' 

Scherer, KUitie Schiiften, Berlin, 1S93, II, 9 (cited by Ki)eder, Die Familie bet 
den An};elsac/iseii, Halle, 1899, p. 122) says of this riddle : ' Die einzige Liebesszene 
in der alten angelsiichsischen Foesie aus der wir sonst vieles lernen ist dem 
Lateinisclien nachgebikiet iind sie schildert — audi luu indirekt — sinnlichen 
Genuss.' The jirobleni has too much in common with the other double entente 
riddles of the collection to merit this comment. 

Dietrich (I.e.) points out that while ei-ae and sleap, two common words for 
'beaker,' are masculine, bune is feminine and therefore suited to the gender of 
the riddle. Hut in the Kiddles little stress is laid upon grammatical gender {supra'). 

Akerman, Remains of Pagan Saxondoni, p. 51, and De Baye, T/ie Industrial 
Arts of the Ani^lo-Saxons, pp. 106 f., have discussed at length the glass beakers 
of the Anglo-Saxon. I note in the (libbs collection of the British Museum two 
from h'aversham in Kent, which resemble closely those in Akerman 's plates. 
One is light green, the other (dive, and both are ornamented by rude jagged 
I)ands running from near the mouth to the bottom, where they converge. They 
are footless, and, like the horns (whose shape is copied by other glass vessels), 
they must have been emptied before being relaid upon the table. In outline the 
grave-finds resemble the illustrations'of cups in the manuscripts (Claudius B. IV, 
ff. 63 r., 102 v. ; Tib. B. V., Strutt, I/orda, pi. x), and accord with the descrijition in 
/jVcTf. 495, hroden ealowaege ; 2253-2254, faited waige,| dryncf;vt deore. As Sharon 
Turner points out, /list, of Ant^lo-Saxons VII, chap, vi, the precious metals were 
used constantly for basins and beakers, and the wills often bequeath cups of gold, 
silver, and silver-gilt [64 3, gla'd mid golde]. See also Brincker, Germ. Altertiimer 
in Juditli, 1S9S, p. 21. 

64 I Si'Cfja seledreaiiu'. Cf. ./;/(/. 1656, secga seledream. 

643 }"la'<l iiiid ••■ohie. Cf. Sal. 48S, golde ghx-dra. — Jjifr •Rinnan <lriiu'a(V. 
Cf. 68 17, gt)lde gegierwed, )>ser guman druncan ; 56 i, 57 n, hajr h.vlecS thuncon; 
15 12, I'Sr weras drinca'^"; 21 12, l>Sr hy meodu drincalS. 

64 4 I'ofaii. Sievers {PBB. X, 497) cites many e.xamples from the poetry to 
support his rejection of a long root-syllable in this word: And. 1006, in l>am 
mor'^'orcofan ; /iV. 833, in heostorcofan, etc. The present instance argues for a 
long syllable ; but verses of form _£. X X X | ^^ X are rather frequent in the Riddles 
(ib., ])..(54). — «'y.sse'ff iuuJh'. So it is said of the Horn, 15 ?, luvllum weras cyssaiN; 
see also 31 6. Other Latin riddles besides that of Aldhelm (cited supra) allude to 
the kiss of the wine-cup: Lorsch 55, ' Dulcia (|uin bibulis tradunt et bassia buccis'; 
MS. liern. 611, 60 {.h/t/;. Lai. I, 353), ' I'.t aniica libens oscula ])orrigo cunctis.' 

64 5 tillic t'siip. So 55 s, 

64 7 AvyrceA' his Avillaii. Cf. 551., woihtc iiis wiiJan. 



NOTl'-.S 205 

KIDDMi Of) 

Dietrich (XI, 479-480) combines tin- ihiiteeii runes W I B E H A (> E F A (the 
reading of Tii., C,n., for >t) [A S P int.. PEABEAHSWIFED (for » A, ' Ring- 
tailed peacock'; and refers to Aldlieim's ' I'avo' enigma (i, 16), ' I'ulclier et ex- 
cellens specie, mirandus in orbe.' 15ut Ilicketier (//wi,'//*;, X, 597) has pointed 
out many objections to this unhaj)py solution : the change of t> to D in 1. 4 is 
opposed by the alliteration ; the form s',vifeiia is not only a hapax legomenon, but 
an incredible coinage ; all predicates and attributes of the riddle are left unex- 
plained, and sylfes Jitcs folces is totally disregarded ; finally, the same sound ea in 
pea and bi-ah can hardly be represented in one case by the rune [A, in the other 
by two runes E and A. To Dietrich's solution Sievers {Aitglia XIII, 19, note) 
objects on ])honetic grounds : ' Eine form bi-a/i mit dem spiiten ausl. h fiir,;,'- und 
ohne palatalumlaut ist ausserdem fiir die mundart der ratsel undenkl)ar; das wort 
hiitte in deren orthographic nach massgabe aller altesten angl. texte als bilg- zu 
erscheinen. Und wie ware die vertauschung der (/rune mit /> zu erklaren ? ' Even 
less credible is Grein's learned solution {Ch'rm. X, 309) : ' Aspi))(d)e-uv(f) — Aspis 
et hie vultur (bubo = uf) = schlangenfressend Raulivogel.' 

In his answer, Ilicketier has solved the problem. He marks that each group of 
runes is used to signify the word which it spells in part : WIcg, BEorn, HA(o)foc, 
t^Egn, FAlca and EA, SPearhafuc. The first four words give no trouble and are 
supported by the problem's companion-piece, Rid. 20. J'hUc)lca, which he does 
not find elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon, Ilicketier supports by reference to O. II. G. 
fulko (cf. Baist, Ilaupts Zs. XXVII, 65), and to such a compound as Westei-faica 
(Thorpe, Atii^lo-Sixxon Cliroiticle I, 30b). Ea, 'water,' which is presented by a 
single rune, is in keeping with the context. Spear liafuc, Ilicketier points out, is 
a very common word, and is not unnaturally suggested by its synonyms, Ilafoc 
and P'alca. 

Trautmann i^Bb. V, 50; Kyne-vulf, 46) follows Ilicketier in part, but suggests 
for the later words J>egnas or l>eo7s.'as, liafoc, earh, speru. As he offers no explana- 
tion of these forms, it is necessary to supply his reasons. His (objection Xn falca 
probably rests upon the non-appearance of the word elsewhere; but this word is 
sup])orted not only by the arguments of Ilicketier (supra) but by the runes F and 
A, and by the demands of the alliteration in 65 5. So there is really no warrant 
for Trautmann's hafoe. I lis plural J>egnas or J>eowas is probably suggested by 65 6, 
folees ; but it is open to the very strong objection that since in our riddle's mate, 
204-5, liil(lehi'yh>: is in apposition with the singular luoii (N M), it seems reason- 
able to infer the same relation between /iry/ja </(?/ and a singular (doubtless /^y//) 
here. And, again, it seems highly improbable that the letters are intended to rep- 
resent other than uninflecfed forms of words. I therefore prefer Ilicketier's /)(;^'-« 
to Trautmann's //?^//(/j. Trautmann's earh and speru seem to me very happy sug- 
gestions. Not only are they supported by all the arguments ior gar in A'/i/. 20, but 
by their a])pearance in apposition elsewhere in the poetiy : Sal. 128-129, scearp 
speru,|atole earhfare ; Ami. 1330-1331, gares ord, | earh attre gemSl. Hut the 
sing, spere seems to me preferable to spent (supra). 'The hawk flew above the 
spear carried by the beorii ox Itegii." .Sylfes /}<rs folces refers to the horseman, his 



2o6 KiDDi.i'.s oi' riii'; i:xi;'ii:r iu)()K 

steed, and liis ;ilti'iulaiU (/u'x//), — liammuv says, J). -i6, 'die sechs niit runen 
geiianiileii wcseii.' 
65 1 Cf. 20 . ^ 75 1. 

652 on si|»|»<>. Cf. 20 s-i,, fur . . . sil'fa't. 

653 lia'I)lM'ii<l(>s liyht. Cf. 95 ■;, liTl'eiulia hyht. 

65 4 ]7l'ii(^ii). In lliis plate, tlie /'/■■{.K") seems to he tlie attendant of tlie 
/>'/:'{<>/■>/). 'I'lial till' word is early api)lied to 'servant,' tlie many references 
in Schn\id, (.ic-svtzr, '(ilossai,' \i\). 0().i f,, and I!.'!"., ]>. 1043, show. Indeed in 
Matt, xxiv, 46, 'ser\us,' l,ind. reads &i\i;ii, where i\ush. <\ui<\ and West Saxon 
/ii'07(i. It is difficidt to determine the meaning elsewhere in the A'u/d/c's, but /.f,i,''« 
is opposed to f.iv/f 55 7. Ilollhausen />'/'. IX, 358, notes that if Assmann's read- 
inj; 1^ for \) l)e acceiJted as tiiat of the MS., the two runes W and E indicate 7('c'r, 
'man'; hut the alliteration is clearly against this. 

655 KA(rli). This reading is supi>orled l)y (he context, hy the natural appo- 
sition of /■'.■l{r/i) .uul .S7'((V(), and linaliy hy the e\idence of J\n/. 20, with its 
■;oi\^i^\!^(l r e(piivalent. A ^\'est Sa.Non worker has therefore been busy among 
these runes, as in A'li/. 43 (see Introduction), sim e the Northern form is surely 
not fur/i \ comiKue /.c/d. Kid. 13, aMigfaMa. 

65^1 llicketier ]3oints out the irregularity of sylfc.<: h't's folccs. Either simply 
/)«■•.» or/.«\r syljaii is in better accord with idiom (see Barnouw, p. 216). 



Tlie source of this ' Onion ' riddle has already been considered hy me under 
Kid. 26. Its final motif, ' the biter bitten,' is found in Sym])ln)sius, 4.1 : 

Morileo niorili'iitcs, ultrd nnn uKirdco (nicnuiuaiu ; 
Sed sunt mordenteni nudti niordere parati. 
Nenu) timet niorsiini, dentes quia noii iial^et ullos. 

The bile of the Onion is a comnKuiplace of I'olksrdl.u-l {\<i^wV, /.s. d. /'./. /7'. V, 
loi); Wossidlo, No. igo; I'elsch, p. <)()). And tlie motif has been transferred to 
other themes, MS. Hern. 61 1, No. 37, ' Pepper'; Aldhelm ii, 13, 'Nettle.' 

'I'he lirst motif of the riddle — the death and renewed life of its subject — is 
thus explained hy hietrich (Xl,4So): ' Hie zwii;l)eln werden in dem jahre wo sie 
gesiit sind der hau])tmasse nach nichi brauchbar, sie miissen in I'inem /weiten 
jahre wieder in die crdc gelegt weidin, uni die gehdrige grdsse zu erlangen ; 
dalier hiii voni sleibcn die rede ist und vnni wiederkommen aus einem friiheren 
\ oihandensein.' See my notes to A'/,/. 26 for verl)al jiarallels between the two 
prol)lems. Kid. 66 differs from its predecessor in its freedom from suggestion 
t)f o])scenity. 

663' lialaA nice on licadrc. Cf. 21 n. liealdeN mec on heal'ore (.vti-'c/i/). 

665-6 Although this is a (ommon motif of riddle-poetry (compare the 'Ox' 
riddle), still these lines are so i lose to Svn\phosius .) 4 as to suggest a literary 
connec tion either direct or indirect. The lone of the ritklle and its relation to 
h'ld. 26 put it, however, in the class of |)o]ndar, rather than of literary jjroblems. 



NOTES 207 

RIDDLK (17 

Under Rid. 41 I have already discussed the origins of J\id. 67. It owes noth- 
ing to Aldiiehn's De Cifiitiira directly, but is a very free reshaping of some of the 
material furnished by the second hand (/>') in 41 82 f. — probably an effort of this 
translator to improve upon his first very slovenly venture. Ilolthaus, Ans^lia 
VII, Anz. 123, believes that Rid. 67 is written by an imitator of Rid. 41 : 'The 
theory of identity of authorship leads to a dilemma, in that the poet would neither 
work over his bad stuff in order simply to give a translation from the Latin, nor 
is it conceivable that he would recast his good work in bad form.' My theory, as 
set forth in my notes to Rid. 41, meets this objection. P'or the relation of 67 and 
the fragment 94, see the notes to the later riddle. 

67 1-3 The comparatives are consistently feminine, whereas in Rid. 41 the 
gender fref|uently varies, /''runiscea/t, 'creatura,' is, of course, feminine. 

672 leolitrc ];oiiii<; iiioiia. In Rid. 303, the Moon is called lyflf(rt IcuhtlTc. 

673 8\vil"tre J7011110 suiiiic. So of the Sun in 30 n'', forS onette. ^i; Met. 
2931, Se bilS I'Sre sunnan swiftra (eveiiiiii; s/ur). in the Prose Edda i^Ciylfa- 
gitifiitig, § 12), ' the sun speeds at such a rate as if she feared that some one was 
pursuing her for her destruction.' 

674 fohlaii bcariii. Cf. Bcoto. 11 38, fSger foldan Ijcarm ; Gen. 1664, geond 
foldan bearm (MS. beam). 

675 greiie ^von}!;as. So Rid. 132; 6V7/. 1657; cf. Men. 206, wangas grene. 
See Rid. 41 51,83, ))es wong grena. — <;i-uii<luiii ic lirTiie. Cf. Rid. 40 10, ne Sfre 
foldan hran. 

676 Rime in the Riddles has been discussed in my notes to Kid. 29. 
67 7 Avuldrcs ejjel. So Gen. 83. 

678 ofer cn;^Ia card, Cf. Clir. 646, engla eard ; i\Iod. 74, on engla eard. — 
eor]7an gefylle. Cf. Ps. 649, eor'San J'u gefyllest eceum wa;stmum ; Gen. 1553- 
J554, gefylled wear^ | call l^es middangeard monna bearnum. 

RIDDLK 08 

This fragment is not printed l)y Tlu)rpe and Grein, and is therefore not dis- 
cussed by Dietrich and Prehn. Trautmann, Atiglia, Bb. V, 50, suggests ' Bil)le,' a 
solution which has much in its favor. 68 t, heodcyninges, points to divine associa- 
tions, and 682, 'word galdra, may well indicate Holy Writ; cf. Afod. 6, lie J>din 
gealdrc (The Word), Rid. 49 7, guman galdorcivide (sacred speech) ; 68 13, li'oda 
Idrcmv, the teacher, through whom men live eternally, can only be the l>ook of 
Books (cf. 27 18 f.), and 68 3 snytt\rd\ suggests .sacred wi.sdom. The adornments 
of the subject recall those of the Book in Rid. 27 (cf. 68 17, golde gegierwed ; 
27 13, gierede mec mid golde). The books in Aldhelm's enigma J')e Area Libraria 
(ii, 14) are called ' divinis verbis' and 'sacratos biblos '. 6817'', kicr guvian 
druneon, does not militate against the solution, as a similar phrase is found in the 
riddle of the ' Cross' (56 i). Other ' Bible ' riddles, I.denzkar Gd/ur, jj^, 805, 999, 
and S/ras.tbnrg Rb., 43-50, have little in common with this problem. 

681 ]?eo(l<'yiilriK«'S. Only once elsewhere {Son/, Verc, 12) is /^'odeyning ap- 
plied to Ciod, and in that place the Exeter text reads ire dryliten. 



208 RIDDLES OF IHK EXETER BOOK 

68 .s iia'iinc mxi'S hafa'A'. In 40 12 the M()()n(?) has no moiitli, ;/<• m/lrf' Itafa&, 
and in 61 ^) tlic I''lute is ' mouthless.' 

68 <) fCt lie f[olin(']. Cf. 28 15, fnla nc folnia ; 327, fet ond fohiie ; 40 10, fot 
ne folm ; Jhinv. 745, fcl ond folma. 

6810 Avolan oft saca'iV. Tiie liible often 'chides' or 'contends against' 
worldly wealth: I's. Ixii, 10; Ixxiii, 12; Prov. xxiii, 5 ; Jer. ix, 23; Matt, xiii, 22; 
MaiU iv, 19; Luke viii, 11; etr. 

6814 [an'a to] oaldro. This reading of Ilolthausen, .iiv^lia XXIV, 264, is 
sustained by many instances of the phrase in the poetry (^Sp7-. I, 46). 

68 15 ]»oiulon inonii busJiff- (^"f. Pit. \ 57-1 S«S, l>£r no men buga'S | card ond e)>el. 

681(1 <'or]jaii sceatas. So Gcii. 2206; Si-af. 61; And. 332; cf. Hecnv. 752, 
eor|>an sccata. 

6817 f;ol<le <»('fi;'*'i"^vo<l. Cf. Beoit'. 553, goldc gegyrwed ; /hunc. 1029, 2193, 
golde gegyrede ; /)rc'(7W, 16, gegyred mid golde ; JA-/. 25 6, golde gegerede. See 
also /\/W. 27 13, cited s///>r<!. — ]yivr giiiiian (Iriiiicoii. Cf. 64 3 (note). 

68 iS siiioe ond seolfrc. So 21 10, Dtin. 60. Cf. the description of the Lindis- 
farne MS. of the Gospels (Skent, /o/im, p. 188) : ' BillfriS se oncrcc he gesmio'Sade 
tia gehrino "Sa Se utan on sint ond hit gehrinade mi'S golde ond mid gimmum aec 
mi'S suulfre ofergylded faconleas feh.' See note to 27 h'-m. 

For closing formula, compare 33 13, 73 20. 

RIDDLE (59 

After 69 2 is a sign of closing ; so Thorpe prints 69 3 as a separate riddle. Traut- 
mann, />'/'. V, 50, follows Thorpe's division. The first two lines, which correspond 
to A'/i/. 37 1-2 and constitute an opening formula, certainly seem not only super- 
fluous but misleading here ; and yet we can neither discard them nor give them a 
separate place. Grein, who takes the three lines together, suggests {/y/V>/. II, 410) 
' Winter,' and Dietrich (XI, 480) ' Ice.' Though Dietrich is certainly right, 69 3 has 
notliing in common with A'/W. 34, ' Iceberg.' Dietrich thinks that the riddle may 
once have been longer; but the single line is, as an enigma, admirably complete. 

693 Compare the descrijition of the freezing of the water in ,-/;/</. 1 260-1 262 : 

clang wa'teres ))ryni 
• ofer eastreamas, Is brycgade 

bla;ce brimrade. 

Cf. (7//. F.x. 72-73, Forst sceal frcosan, ... Is brycgian. The meter establishes, be- 
yond doubt, ('// 7oei^e (<7iJ<?!^e), ' in the water ' ; cf. 34 i, .xfter wege (' Ice' riddle). 
The double meaning of tc^"- thus serves the riddler's turn. 

RIDDLE TO 

Dietrich's answer, 'Shawm,' the 'fistula pastoral is 'or Shepherd's Pipe (Xl,4So), 
is accepted by Padelford, 0/d English Musical Terms, p. 53 : ' Siiige& />ur/i sida/i 
refers to the holes for fingering ; se siveora woli \ orhouciim geworlii, to the fanci- 
fully carved neck and mouthpiece [' wry-necked fife '] ; eaxle twd, to the ])rotrusion 
of the body beyond the neck.' Dietrich describes the instrument (XI, 4S0) : ' Die 



NOTES 209 

sclialinci dcr liirteii mil /wei seitenklappen, dem hautboi iihnlich [eux/c-], veisehen 
und mil eineni geliogenem mundstiick besetzt, welches ich selbst an hirtenfioten 
gesehen habe.' Although the shawm was well known at the time of the Minne- 
singers (Schultz, yjds hofische Leben I, 434), the name (O. F. chaletnie, 'a little pipe 
made of a reed or of a wheaten or oaten straw ' — Skeat, Etym. Did. s. v.) does not 
appear in Knglish until long after the Conquest ; and Padelford finds no trace of 
the instrument in the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts cited by Strutt and Westwood. 
Despite such negative evidence, the thing may have been in use at our early period. 

Trautmann offers without explanation {Anglia, Bb. V, 50) the answer 'Roggen- 
halni' or ' Kornhalm.' 

70 i'' Cf. 73 2S-20, Wiga se he mine wisan | [so)'e] cunne. 

70 2 sinf;<''0' pui'li sidan. So of the Bagpipe, 32 3, selllc Hng singan on raecede. 

70 4 on ffesryhlruiii. So 41 103. — gesoeapo [dreosecV]. Grein's addition was 
doubtless made with his eye on Ph. 210, gesceapu dreoge'S ; Ily. 11 7, gesceap 
dreoge^". 

RIDDLE 71 

Dietrich's answer to this problem (XI, 480), ' Cupping Glass,' is hardly con- 
vincing. It is true that 71 3-4, 'the leaving of fire and file,' recalls Aldhelm iv, 8, 
Ciiciima, 1. 7, ' Malleus in primo memet formabat et incus.' But this is the only 
resemblance to the Latin ; nor has our problem aught in common with the fa- 
mous 'Cupping Glass' enigma of the Greeks, cited by Aristotle, Rhcto}-ic\\\, 2, 12 
(Ohlert, p. 74) : ' I saw a man who on a man had soldered brass by fire,' Hi'dp e'ldov 
TTvpl xa^'^^" ^t' dv^pi KoWria-avra. 71 5-6, ivepe& Inviimn for gripe mtiuini fits the 
given answer well enough, and i b, reade be'wcc/ed may refer to blood ; but i a, 
' property of rich ' (cf. 6 b), 2 a, ' stiff and steep plain,' and 2 b-3 a, ' station of bright 
worts,' are fairly remote from the solution. Miiller, C. P., p. 18, is certainly right in 
rejecting the solution ' Cupping Glass ' : ' Das angelsachsische Rathsel ist zu sehr 
verstiimmelt, um auf etwas Bestimmteres als ein geschmiedetes, gefeiltes Werk- 
zeug zu schliessen.' The Aldhelm analogue Miiller sets aside, as the De Cuctinia 
enigma does not treat of a ' Cupping Glass ' (' cucurbita '), but of a pot or kettle. 

The right answer is one suggested and rejected by Dietrich (XI, 480), a 
'Sword' or ' Dagger.' /c com rices u;ht (i a) well applies to a weapon {Kid. 79; 
80 I, 'Horn'). Rcade l>e"un7fed (lb), may refer to blood-stains ('breeched with 
gore'), but more probably to the gold with which the Sword is adorned {Kid. 
21 6-8, 56 14, the gold adornments of the Sword ; 49 r,, rcadan goldes). StT& ond 
steap 'wotig, stajiol w<es hi M \ wyrta ivlitetorhta (2-3 a) recalls the home of the 
mail-coat (36 i), mec se lorcta luong, and the flowery meadow of 35 7-8, J>d -ivlitigan 
wyrtiim firste . . . on stahokuonge. Cf. Aldhelm iv, 10 i. Dagger, ' De terrae gre- 
miis formabar primitus arte.' AYi eom 'wrd/>ra Id/, \fyres 07id feole (3b-4a)can 
only refer to the Sword, as Grein recognized (cf. Spr. II, 152, s. v. laf\ Keller, 
A.-S. Weapon Xnnies, p. 174). Y^'iih. fccsie geitear'wad ci. 21 13. Wire ge-weor/xid 
(5 a) exactly fits the interpretation (cf. Rid. 21 32, 'Sword,' wirum dol ; 21 4, wlr 
ymb bone wxlgimm). Wipe& hwllutn \ for gripe mhmm (71 5-6'^) refers, of course, 
to the sweord-gripe {Jul. 48S). Se J>e gold wige& {'jy 6'') is sometimes a periphrasis 
for the Sword itself {Rid. 21 6,8, ' Sword,' ic sine wege . . . gold ofer geardas), but 



2IO RIDDLKS OF THE EXETER BOOK 

here it seems to indicate the wounded warrior {Beorv. i8Si, guiSrinc goldwlonc). 
Dietrich forces the meaning oi yfian (7 a) into ' entleeren (des blutes),' but else- 
where in poetry it is used only in the sense of 'destroy' {Beim<. 421 ; IVtxiui. 85), 
and so it must be defined here ; this is well said of the Sword (Aldhelm iv, 10 4). 
Hriiigiim gehyrsted (8a) accords with the gifts to the Sword (2123'', )>e mc 
hringas geaf), and with Becnu. 673, hyrsted sweord. And the fragmentary line (9) 
drvlUite nun parallels the many allusions to the lord of the Sword in Kid. 21. 
Trautmann {Aiig/ici, Bb. V, 50) offers ' Der Elsenhelm.' 

71 1-2 Grein and WUlker (Assmann) both put a comma at end of line i, and 
regard 7voiig as being in apposition with iclit\ and Grein translates {Dic/it.) ' Ich 
bin eines Reichen Besitz, rot bekleidet, ein starkes steiles Feld.' Is it not far 
better to close line i with a period, and to construe 7ooiig as forming with s/a/iol 
the predicate of a second sentence, ' I was a hard, high field, the station of 
beautiful plants'? This inttMpretation is supported by 35 8, on sta/>oki.>oi!ge, and 
by the beginning of the ' Mail-coat ' riddle, 36 {siifra), as well as by the context ; 
7'tCL's ielit refers to no ])lain, hut to the Sword itself, which is the possession of 
the rich exclusively (see my notes to 21 s, n>). 

71 3-4 Avraprji liif, | I'yrcs oiid feole. Cf. 6 7, honiera lafe (^swords) ; Beow. 
1033, felk laf (.fTiWi/). 

71 6 Holthausen's inversion of MS. mJitum gripe prevents the alliteration fall- 
ing upon the second stress of a li-type. See, however, 91 S. 

RIDDLK 72 

Dietrich (XI, .iSo) and Prehn (p. 243) answer 'Axle and Wheels,' and defend 
their solution by pointing to the ' quattuor sorores ' of Symphosius's ' Rotae ' enigma 
(No. 77). But the 'four dear brothers' (5b-6a), as Grein pointed out {Spr. II, 
526, s. V. teoit'), are ' mamillae vaccae,' and the subject of the riddle is the 'Ox,' an 
answer supported by Brooke (A. K.Lit., p. 136), and by Trautmann {Aitglia, Bb. 
V, 50). The riddle therefore falls in the same class as Rid. 13, 39, and has been 
discussed incidentallv under those heads. The youth of the Ox, its nourishment, 
its later wanderings aiul sulTeiing, antl its unite endurance are the present themes. 

72 I le iva's lyfel. .\11 ' Bull ' aiul ■ ( )x ' riddles refer to the creature's youth. 
See analogues in my notes to Rid. 13. 

72 5 fe(i<l<' iiK'c. Cf. 73 I, mec fcddon ; 77 1, mec fedde. The addition of Gn.^ 
\_f^g>'<:^ is su])portcd by 54 4, feddan fSgre ; 51 s, fcdaiS hine fSgre. 

72 5-6 ff'owcr . . . swa-se bro]>or. These are ' the four wells ' of Rid. 39 3 
(see note). The teats of a cow are 'four brothers* in the Bukowina riddle 
(Kaindl, /..■;. d. V. f. I'k. VIII, 319), and 'four sisters' in the Lithuanian ([uery 
(Schleicher, \t. 211). 

72 7 driiicaii sealde. Cf. Rid. 13 5, drincan selle. 

72 S J>iT'h. There is no reason to accept Holthausen's hdh {Bb. TX, 358); /("// 
is the Northern form of West Saxon Jit-a/i (Sievers, Gr.^, 163, n. i ; Madert, p. 53). 
Cf. 5 S, bdg for bi'ag. 

72 9-10 These lines do not mean, as Brooke supposed {E. /■'.. Lit. p. 136), 'I was 
with the swart herdsman,' but ' 1 left that (i.e. the milking) to the cow-herd.' 



NOTES 211 

Brooke adds, ' The swart herdsman is a Welsh slave. Swart is the usual epithet 
of the Welsh as against the fairer Englishman.' See my note to 13 s. 

729'' iinforlet. Grein and Wiili<er read an f 07- let, and (irein renders {/)ic/it.) 
'dieses all liberliess'; but ditforliittiii, though not included in Sweet's /^/c/., ap- 
pears several times in the prose (B.-T., s.v.). 

72 10" swoartuin hyrde. The labors of the o.x-herd are detailed in ylilfric's 
CollotjuVy WW. 91 : 'Jjcenne se yr)>lingc ('arator') unscen)> \<a. oxan ic Ijede hig to 
ISse and ealle niht ic stande ofer hig waciende for J^eofan and eft on seme mergen 
ic betaece hig J>am yrMincge wel gefylde and gewa^terode.' Wiilker points to 
Bede's account of Ca^dmon, Hist. Eccl. iv, 24, to neata scypene, )>ara heord him 
W3es I'Sre nihte beboden. 'Bubulci' is the lemma to oxciiliyrdas (WW. 90, 17; 
91, 23; Ifaupts Zs. XXXIII, 23S). For the rights and duties of ox-herd and cow- 
herd, see Rectitiidines Singularum Personarum, 12, 13, Schmid, p. 380. 

72 lo-ii Brooke says {E. E. Lit., p. 136): 'We are brought into another part 
of the country, where in Riddle 72 the Ox speaks and tells how weary he was 
among the rough paths of the border moorland.' Compare the description of 
Ur in Kun. 4-6 : 

W (ur) byj> aiimSd and oferhyrned, 
felafrecne deor, feohte^i mid liornum 
miere morstapa ; Jixt is niodig wiiht. 

But the animal of our riddle is thoroughly tamed — certainly not one of the wild 
cattle that at this day and for centuries afterwards roamed through the forests of 
England (Bell, British Quadrupeds, pp. 368 f. ; llarting, Extinct British Animals, 
pp. 213 f.). 

72 12 The use of oxen for plowing has already been discussed at length in 
connection with Kid. 22, ' Plow.' Notice the geiukudan oxan of ^Elfric's Colhx/ny 
(WW. 90). The work of the ox among the Anglo-Saxons and the other Ger- 
manic nations is considered at length by Heyne, Eiinf Biicher II, 198-208. 

72 13 ^v('()^<• ]J^d^Vil(le. So Bemo. 1722; cf. Ap. 80, weorc ^rowegan. 

72 It <'iirf<)<>a (liX'l. So Gen. 180; Deor, 30. — Oft mec Tsern scod. For the 
use of the goad, as illustrated by the Colloquy and illuminated MSS., see my 
notes to the 'Plow' riddle (22). The Smith is a maker of goads as well as of 
plow-shares and coulters {^Colloquy'), and the Gere/a mentions the gddiren among 
agricultural implements (§ 15, Anglia IX, 263). The pricks of the goad are finely 
called ordsticpe (72 17). 

RIDDLE 73 

All authorities agree upon the answer 'Spear' or 'Lance.' Like the weapon in 
Rid. 54, this has flourished as a tree, the ash, until, subjected to a cruel change of 
fate, it comes into a murderer's hands ; like that, it boasts of its deeds of battle, 
and vaunts its fame. In its description of its origin, the 'Spear' has some faint 
likeness to Aldhelm vi, 8, ' Sling' ; and, like this, it delights in battle. But the re- 
semblance between the two — Prehn's labored comparison (pp. 244-247) to the 
contrary — seems conditioned, by the likeness of topics, and does not preclude 
complete independence of composition. 



212 RinOLKS OF THE KXETI:R BOOK 

The closest analogue lo our riddle is found in the descripli(Mi of the Ash, both 
as tree and s])ear, in Run. 81 ; 

I* (;l'sc) l)i|> oferheali. ulihuii (lyre, 
still "" sta|uile, stetle rihte liylt, 
lieah liini feohtaii on liras nionige. 

For (CSC as tree, see my note to Kid. 43 .,, se torhta ivsc ; and as spear, see 
Rid. 23 II ; And. 1099; etc. {Spy. I, 58). As I have noted under Rid. 54, ourcjuery 
belongs to the same class as the world-riddle of Oak-Ship (Wossidlo 78), which is 
based upon the same motives as the descrii)tion of ./<-, 'the oak,' in /v'«//. 77-80 
(see note to 56 9). 

In Anglo-Saxon interments the spears occur in much greater number than any 
of the other weapons. The cemetery at Little Wilbraham produced 35 spears, 
but only 4 swords (Neville, Sci.xoii ObseqKie.s, 1852, ]>. 8; Ilewett, Ancient Armor, 
i860, p. 24); and other grave-finds yield similar results (Roach-Smith, Cat. of A.-S. 
Antiquities at Favers/iam, 1873, pi. xi). The Anglo-Saxon spear is represented 
not only by the heavy weapon for hurling and thrusting, but by the lighter dart for 
casting only, the daro&, or//7 (Keller, p. 21). Spears were used by the early Eng- 
lish not only for war but for hunting (see the September illustration in the Anglo- 
Saxon calendar, Tib. 15. IV; Jul. A. VI). The weapon consisted of three parts: 
the spear head, almost lozenge-shaped, the shaft, to which the head was attached, 
and the iron into which the wood of the shaft was fitted. De Baye, Industrial 
Arts of .■}n^i;'/o-S(i.\cins, p. 22, notes that the distinctive feature of the Anglo-Saxon 
spear is a rather short socket. It is the ash shaft (cf. Beoic. 330, garas, . . . 
aescholt ufan grieg ; Maid. 310; Hand. 99; A'/V/. 23 n) that speaks in our riddle. 

Brooke remarks {E. E. Lit., p. 124, note): ' Gclr is the usual word for "sjjear" 
— {i^dr-J)ene = spear Danes). Gdr was the javelin, armed with two of which the 
warrior went into battle, and which he threw over the " shield-wall." It was 
barbed, but the other, shaped like a leaf without a barb, was called the s/>ere, the 
lance, concerning whiiii is (ynewulf's riddle. Tiiis was shod on the top of the 
handle with a heavy metal ball, to give it weight, just as the sword was.' That 
such a distinction was always felt to exist between ^rfr and sperc is more than 
doubtful in the light of their identical appearance in the poetry and their com- 
mon lemmas, 'jaculuni," •hasia'; although it is true that 'telum,' 'piluni," words 
for javelin, are frequent synonyms of t^dr. In any case, it is clear that barbed 
lances were not used as missile weapons, although we occasionally find in Anglo- 
Saxon graves a missile weapon the two blades of which are not in the same 
plane (De Baye, p. 22). But j.^/;- is hardly limited to this missile. 

' The Spear mourns that it was taken away from the tield (as a sapling of 
the forest land) where eartli and heaven nourished it; tiiat its nature has been 
changed and forced to bow to the will of a murderer, ^'et as it learns to know 
its master better, it sees that he is no murderer, but one who will fulfill a noble 
fame. Then the spear changes its thought, and is prouil of its small neck and 
fallow sides, when the glow of sunlight glitters on its point, and the warrior be- 
decks it with joy, and bears it on the war-path with a hand of strength upon its 
sliaft and knows its ways in battle' (Brooke, A". /-.'. Lit., p. 124). 



NOTES 213 

73 1-7 Notice the close likeness to the opening lines of Kid. 54, ' Battering-ram.' 
At that place I drew attention to the affinity (pointed out by Cook, Dream of 
Rood, p. I.) between our riddle passages and Dream 2S-30. 

733 gearuni frOcliic. Cf. /'//. 154; Gen. 2381, gcarum f rod ; /'//. 219, fyrn- 
gearuni f rod ; Rid. 54 4, frod dagum ; 93 6, dajgrime frdd. 

733-7 I'lehn, p. 245, points to Tatwine, 321-2, Sagitta, ' Armigeros inter 
Martis me bella subire obvia fata juvant,' and 34 4, Pliaretra, ' Non tamen 
oblectat nee sponte subire duellum.' But there is surely no direct connection 
between the English and the Latin. Cf. also Rtd. 24 (>, se waldend, se me \>tct 
wite gescop. 

73 9 g'f his clleii <I<"ag. See my note to 62 7. 

73 II iiiiT'rpa I'rciiiiiiun. Cf. Beow. 2515, mSrSu f remman ; 2135, mierSo 
fremede ; 2646, niSrtNa gefremede ; Seaf. 84, maer'Sa gefremedon. 

73 i.> hea]70sig«'l. Grein, Spr. II, 41, and B.-T., pp. 523-524, agree in deriving 
the first member of the compound from hca&ii, ' the sea.' The first translates 
' sol e mare progrediens,' and the second explains ' The prefix seems to be used 
from seeing the sun rise over the sea (cf. merecondeiy Sweet, however, derives 
from hea&o, ' battle,' which is very common as the first member of compounds, 
and which is well suited not only to the associations of war in the present passage, 
but to the description of the sun elsewhere in Riddles (7 1,5, 30^-10). See also 
Sievers {FEB. X, 507). 

73 21 on fynl \viKt'?f. Cf. Gen. 2044, on fyrd wegan fealwe linde. 

73 22 on liirftc. After the riddle-fashion, the poet is playing upon the double 
meaning of hirfl, 'handle' and 'confinement.' 

73 24 untler bra'giiloi'an. Thorpe suggests, in his note, hro-gllocan for M.S. 
hrcegnlocan, and translates 'among wardrobes.' Grein, Bibl. II, 400, follows the 
MS., but does not translate {Dicht.). Dietrich (XI, 482) says: ' Wahrscheinlich 
ist hragn ein korpertheil und sein verschluss das innere des leibes ; ich stelle 
dazu bis auf weiteres das engl. riiie, die hirnhaut.' In Spr. II, 137, Grein pro- 
poses brcegnlocan, which B.-T. renders, p. 556, 'that which incloses the brain,' 
' the skull ' ; and Sweet, ' the head.' 

73 26 frl'S lia'fde. Cf. Gen. 1299, friS habban ; Geti. 2471, friS agan. 

73 27 Feringe from. See my note to 63 2 ', forSsI)>es from. 

73 2S-29 Here is a serious difficulty. Shall we place with Thorpe a comma 
after li'iciim, and refer wiga to he, or with Gn., W., a colon, and regard wiga as 
voc. with 2 pers. imp. saga ? In favor of the first it may be said that the sudden 
introduction of the third person in line 27 seems to demand an appositional phrase 
of explanation ; in favor of the second, that tviga se />e mine \ wisan ciinne may 
well be a part of the closing formula (cf. 68 18-19, 70 i). But neither of these 
interpretations meets the further difficulty, that in the MS. transmission there 
is no alliteration in line 29. .So Merzfeld, p. 70, suggests that at least two half- 
lines have been omitted between cntine and saga. But, as we have seen, there 
is no lacuna in the MS. or gap in the sense. To meet metrical demands we 
might read 

Wiga se be mine wIsan 
[so^ie] cunne, saga hwast ic hatte. 



2 14 RIDDLES OF IIIE EXETER BOOK 

Kl 1)1)1,1'; 74 

The subject of Kid. 74 must satisfy many conditions. The monster must be 
at once a woman, both old and young, and a handsome man. It must fly with 
the birds and swim in the flood. It must dive into the water, dead with the fishes, 
and yet when it steps on the land it must have a living soul. 'l"he riddle has 
troubled scholars sorely. Dietrich admits (XII, 24S) that his solution 'Cuttle- 
fish' (XI, 4S2 ; compare Aldhelm i, 18, LoI/\ifo) was wide of the mark; but 
tlie changes have been rung upon this answer by Prehn and \\'alz {Harvard 
Studies V, 266). Midler {C.P., p. 19) suggests 'Sun,' and points to its different 
genders in Latin and the Germanic languages. Trautmann (/)'/'. V, 48) proposes 
' Water,' and labors over its various forms {BB. XIX, 202): a spring ('a young 
woman '), a cake of ice ('a hoary-headed woman '), and snow (' a handsome man '). 
These identifications he chanii)ions by reference to grammatical gendei-. 1 have 
already objected (.1/. L. X. XXI, loj) that mythology thus becomes the creature 
of declensions, and that water has not a living soul; and have twice presented 
and defended the solution 'Siren' {M.L.A. XVIII, 100; XXI, 103-104). I can 
do little more than repeat my earlier comments upon the problem. The answer 
easily meets every demand of the te.\t. The Siren is both aged and young : cen- 
turies old, and yet with the face of a girl. It is not only a woman but sometimes 
a man. To establish the two sexes of our creature, I have already pointed to the 
male 'Siren' of Orotdel 94. Philippe of Thaun tells us of the 'Siren' in his 
Bcstiaire, 1. 683, '//cante en tempeste ' ; and in two of Philippe's sources (Mann, 
.■liiL^'-Ha IX, T,i)(^) we have 'figuram hominis,' and in a third 'figuram feminis.' In 
two Latin riddles of Keusner (I, 177; II, 77) the Siren is not only '/emina ' but 
'avis,' 'piscis,'and 'scopulus.' In Greek and Etruscan and Roman art the Sirens 
were represented as bird-women (Schrader, Die Sireiien, Berlin, 1868, pp. 70-112; 
Harrison, Myths of the Odyssey, London, 1882, chap, v, 'Myth of the Sirens'; 
Paumeister, Deiikmiiler des Klassischen Altertiims, Munich, 1S88, s. v. ' Seirenen ') ; 
but, as Harrison and Paumeister point out, at an early period of the Middle Ages 
(•vom 7. Jahrhundert ab') the Teutonic conception of a fish-woman or mermaid 
met and mingled with the clas.sical idea of a bird-maiden. The identity of Siren 
and Mermaid is seen in many Anglo-Saxon glosses (P.-T., s.v. inere-tneii,\:). 6S0). 
I'liililipe de Thaun, Bestiaire, 664 f., tells us that 'the Siren has the make of a 
woiuan down to the waist, and the feet of a falcon, and the tail of a fish.' So the 
creature is presented in the illustration of the Old High German Gottweih J'hysi- 
ohi^iis (Heider, Physiolof^tis, Vienna, 1851, p. 10, pi. iii). And Laurens Andrewe 
{The Babees Book, E.E. T.S. XXXII, 237-23S) gives a like account. The com- 
bined bird and fish aspects explain 74 i, fleah mid fiii^him oiid on flode sworn . As 
no one will doubt the appositeness of the last line of the riddle, there remains to 
be discussed only 744, deaf under yhe dead mid fiscum. Every student of myths 
knows that ' when Ulysses or the Argonauts had passed in safety, the Sirens 
threw themselves into the sea, a)id loere transformed into rocks' (Harrison, p. 152, 
note). In its narrative of these creatures the Orphica Argonautiea, 1293-1295 
(Latin translation of Cribellus, Hermann edition) furnishes apt explanation of 
our enigmatic lines: 



NOTES 215 

Ab obice saxi 
Praecipites sese in pelagus misere profunchiin, 
Seel fonnam in petras, generosa corpora mutant. 

That this 'scopulus' phase of the Siren appears in Anglo-Saxon will surprise 
no one who recalls the persistence of the tradition of the death-dive of the Siren 
in a well-known illustration in Herrad von Landsperg's Ilortus Deliciannn, 11 60 
A.n. (lingelhardt, Stuttgart, 18 18, cited by Harrison, p. 171). Every condition 
of Kid. 74 finds natural explanation in this widely-spread myth. The careful re- 
view of the history of the 'Siren-Mermaid' by W. P. Mustard {M.L./V. XXIII, 
21-24, January, 190S) confirms me in the above views contributed by me to 
M.L.A'. XXI, 103-104, April, 1906. My article, of which Dr. Mustard was 
unaware, furnishes, I think, the desired link between classical and Teutonic super- 
stitions. 

74 I feaxhar owoiie. Feaxhdi- occurs only here, but liar is often used as an 
epithet of age (Spr. II, 14). Ilicketier fails completely in his effort to prove 
(Anglia X, 577) that cwene is here contrasted as ' meretrix ' vixiV fHinne ('a bash- 
ful girl'). Nothing could be farther from the riddler's meaning. 

743 fleah mid fiigliim. Cf. Rid. 524, fultum fromra, fleag on lyfte (MS. fu- 
glum frumra fleotgan lyfte). 

74 4 deaf under yj^t'- So 52 5. 

74 (-5 I'V his pointing, a colon after slop, Trautmann (/?/?. XIX, 201) makes 
the final clause, .luefde fer& cioiai, distinct from the context ; but I prefer to 
regard line 5 as the antithesis of line 4 : ' I dove under water, dead with the 
fishes; and (when) I stepped on the ground, I had a living soul.' — ha'fde fcr'O 
CAvifU. The reading yi-;-^ for "hl^. for& is sustained by 11 6, ha-fde feorh cwico ; 
143, haefdon feorg cwico. Cosijn i^PBB. XXIII, 130) finds the same substitution 
in Chr. 1320, 1360. 



RIDDLE 75 

This short runic riddle has in common with Rid. 20 not only the method of 
inverting runes, but the phrasing (see 20 1-3 and 65 1). Read backwards, the four 
runes as restored (see text) spell H U N D, 'dog.' Dietrich, XI, 4S3, conjectures 
that this was the introduction to a longer riddle. 

75 1-2 Swift dogs were in great demand among the Anglo-Saxons. The hunter 
tells us, /Elfric's Colloquy, WW., 92, 14, mid stvifttim Jiiinduin ic beliece wildcor; 
and the fowler (id. 95, 1 2) readily offers a hawk in exchange for a swift hound. 
Wright, Domestic Manners, p. 69, prints from Ilarl. MS. 603 a picture of a dog- 
keeper {/iinuhueal/i) and his two dogs. Sharon Turner, VII, chap, vii, recalls 
the evidence of William of Malmesbury {De Gestis Regiim Angloriim II, chap. 1), 
that iTLthelstan made North Wales furnish him with as many dogs as he chose, 
'whose scent-pursuing noses might explore the liaunts and coverts of the deer,' 
and that Edward the Confessor was fond of liunting with fleet hounds and of 
hawking. For the appearance of liund'xn the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, see Jordan, 
AUenglische Sdugetiernamoi, pp. 46 f. 



2l6 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

RIDDLE 70 

Dietrich (XI, 483) suggests that perhaps the single line Ic dve geseah idese sittan 
forms the introduction to Kid. 77, as the subject of that riddle, ' Oyster,' is of 
feminine gender (Lat. ostrea\ A.-S. ostre), and, being footless, she sits upon the 
rocks; but the change from the third person in 76 to the first in 77 is quite suffi- 
cient to destroy this conjecture. Grein, Bibl. 1\, 401, queries whether the subject 
was not originally given in runes as in liid. 75. Trautmann, Auglia, Bb. V, 50, re- 
gards the line as a fragment. 



RIDDLE 77 

Dietrich is doubtless right in his answer, ' Oyster.' The riddle has only the 
topic in common with the last line of Aldhelm's 'Crab' enigma (iii, 26), ' Ostrea 
quem metuunt diris perterrita saxis ' ; but it tinds apt comment in Ausonius's 
'Ostrea' griphos in his letter to Theon {^Kpistolae vii. Opera, 1785, p. 246) : 'Ostrea 
. . . Dulcibus in stagnis reflui maris aestus opimat,' and in yet another epistle of 
the Latin writer (ix, ib. p. 249): 

Ostrea nobilium coenis suniptuque nepotum 
Cognita diversoque maris defensa profundo, 
Aiit refugis niidata vadis aut scnipea subter 
Antra et niuriceis scopuldrum niersa lacunis. 

Our riddle bears no resemblance to Scaliger's 'Ostrea' (Reusner I, 173), which 
describes the strange nature of the house. But an English riddle {^Wit N'ewly 
Revived, i7So(?), 21) contains the final motives of Kid. 77 (43-8): 

Stouthearted men with naked knives 
Beset my house with all their crew ; 
If I had ne'er so many lives, 
I must be slain and eaten, too. 

The Anglo-Saxon fisherman takes in the sea (/Elfric's Colloquy, WW. 94) 
haerincgas and leaxas, mereswyn and styrian, ostran and crabban, muslan, pine- 
winclan, siecoccas, fage and floe and lopystran and fela swylces (see Ileyne, Fiiiif 
Binlifr II, 250). So in the Ecrl. Hist. i. i (Miller, 26, 7), her beo|> oft numene 
missenlicra cynna weolcscylle i muscule, etc. From Lccchdoms II, 244, 2, we see 
that raw oysters (77 8, unsodene) were not deemed a healthy food (Whitman, 
Auglia XXX, 3S1). 

77 I Ste inec te(l<lo. The feeding of the subjert is a common theme in the 
Riddles: cf. 51 7-cS, 54.^-4, 724-5, 731-2- — siindliclm. The word is found only 
here and in 3 10. 

77 2 iiiec y]Ja ^vl•llJ»()ll. ( 'f. 3 15, yha . . . |'e niec ajr wrugon. — oor]7{in gctenge. 
So 7 3I'. 

77 3 fe]?eleas(>. Both here and in unsodene (1. 9), the grammatical gender of 
ostre is rcLrarded. 



NOTES 



217 



77., iiiufl onfyiKlc. Cf. Whale, 53, 'Sonne se mereweard mfuN ontyneS. 

77 I. souxes orde. Prehn, p. 250, notes the part played l)y the knife's point in 
the KiJdles: 276, seaxes ecg; 61 12, seaxes ord. See my note to 276 for a dis- 
cussion of the seax. 

777 hy<I arypeO". See Leechdotns I, 338, 16, mid ostorscyllum gecnucud ond 
gemenged. 

RIDDLE 78 

This is a fragment not printed by Thorpe and Grein. Trautmann, Bh. V, 50, 
does not attempt a solution; but Holthausen, Anglta XXIV, 265, suggests ' ein 
im wasser lebendes tier (auster? krebs? fisch ?).' It presents several parallels to 
the 'Oyster' problem: 78 i, Oft ic flodas; 773, Oft ic flode ; 783, [d]yde me to 
mose ; 77 5, 8, fretan . . . iteS ; 78 7'', y>um bewrigene ; 77 2, mec y^a wrugon. On 
account of these very recurrences of thought, we cannot regard 78 as a mere con- 
tinuation of 77; but rather as a development of a similar theme. 

78 3 Holthausen,. '/wi,'-/w XXIV, 265, would read \_h'\ydd; but my reading, [d]yi/i- 
me to mose, is supported by And. 27, dydan liim to viose, and by the parallel of 
thought in 77 [snpi-a). 

787'' y|>uin bewrigene. Cf. 3 15, y^a . . . \<e mec aer wrugon; 772, mec yha 
wrugon; Ge>i. 156, bewrigen mid flode; Gen. 1460, bewrigen mid wa:trum; Met. 
8 59, bewrigen on weorulde waetere o\>\>e eor'San. 



RIDDLE 79 

Dietrich (XI, 483), regards this single line as ' merely a variant of the first line 
of Kid. 80.' 

79 I ic eoiii aepelinges wht. So of the Sword, 71 i, ic eom rices ieht. 



RIDDLE 80 

Dietrich's answer ' Jagdfalke ' or 'Ilabicht' (XI, 483) is accepted by Prehn 
(p. 283) and Stopford Brooke (p. 147). Walz, Hariuird Studies V, 267, defends 
the solution 'Sword' by its relation to its lord (1), its wooden sheath (6), its 
'hard tongue' or point (8b), its use as a gift (g-ioa), its brown edge (na). 
Miiller, C. /'., p. 18, offers the answer ' Horn,' which is accepted by Herzfeld (p. 5). 
Trautmann, who had not read Miiller, gives (^BB. XIX, 203 f.) many good reasons 
for rejecting other answers and his own earlier solution, ' Spear'; and now offers 
convincing support to • Horn.' This is literally the noble's shoulder-companion 
and the warrior's comrade (1-2); it is the associate of the king (3 a), as a drinking- 
vessel. So at feasts, the queen takes it in her hand (3 a-5) (and offers it to 
the heroes); cf. Beo'w. 494 f., 620 f., 1168, 1216, 1981 f., 2021 f. The Horn carries 
in its bosom what grew in the grove (6) — the mead made of honey ' brought from 
groves' (Miiller and Trautmann cite 28 2-.v')- As battle-horn, it rides upon a horse 
at the end of the troop (7-8 a). Its tongue or tone is hard (S b). At the banquet 



2i8 Rii)i)Li:s nv 'riiE exicti:r t-ook 

it offers wine to tlie singer as reward for his song (9-10 a) (cf. Miiller). Its color 
may well be black (11 a). Trautniann has surely proved his thesis, as Miiller had 
done before him. Points of likeness with the earliri • Horn ' riddle, A'/i/. 15, are 
many, as Miiller and Traulmann show: there the Horn rides upon a horse 
(5!) ()a, i;l) i-ia); it has a filled bosom (8-9 a) ; its voice is dfscrihi'tl ( 16-1 (j a) ; 
and one may aild that 80 2:\ fyrdrincex iiefanu is paralleled by 15 ■;', J'rcollc fynl- 
sccorp. 'riie hii'llnm clauses of 80 recall those of the earlier riddle (compare 
Brandl, GriiiiJriss- II, 972). For a discussion of the Anglo-Saxon horn, see my 
notes to A'/,/. 15. 

802'' IVeaii iiiTiiiiiu leof. So 21 2 (Sword). 

803-5 As 'rraiitmann has pointed out (see xiipra'), the Bcoividf, 612, refers to 
such service by noble women, when Wealhl'covv i)asses the beaker at the feast. 
So in GV/. Ex. 8JS-QI : 

(W'if sccal) nu'(>(li)r;T'(k'iinc 
for gcsIiNma'gcn symlc ;T'ghw;er 
eodor julicliiiga iiMcst gcgretan, 

fiirnKui lulk' to fir-.ui lioiul 
riiciic ,i;i'i Ml ,in. 

In Bede's lucl. I/ist., bk. v, chap. ,), an earl's wife ' presented the cup to the bisho]! 
and us (Abbot lierthun), and continued serving us with drink as she had begun 
till dinner was over.' The same custom prevailed in other dermanic countries. 
In the )'>ii^/iiii:^(i S(r_i;-a, chap, .j 1 , 1 iildigunn, daughter of King CJranmar, carries ale 
to the viking Iljorvard. In the ( ourtly verses cited by Vigfusson and Powell (C'o;- 
f/ts rocticiim I^orcalc II, -iiS) from Olaf's Saga, the poet calls ' I'yll horn, kona 
. . . Berr nier of ker ! ' (' fill the horn, lady . . . Hear me the cup'). And we are 
told by (Jeoffrey of Monmouth, in his account of the meeting of \'ortigern anil 
llengist {/listoria Ihitt'iiiiiii, bk. vi, chap. 12, cited by Budde, Die BedcKtiiiii^ dcr 
'/'liiiksitten, p. 39), that Rowena, the daughter of the Saxon chieftain, was the 
Hritish king's cupbearer: 'Ut vero regiis epulis refectus fuit, egressa est puella 
de thalanio aureum scypheum vino plenum ferens ; accedens deinde propius regi 
flexis genibus dixit: " Lauerd king wacht heil!"' For Iruntlocccdii, cf. note to 
41 gS. In the Ilci&rcks Cntiir, No. 9, light-haired women carry ale. 

80 .\ IioikI on 1»'<;('»V. An example of the shortened A-type, with a heavy 
mon<)syllal)le in the thesis (Ifer/.feld, p. .14). 

8os,eorloH ilolitor. Contrast 26(>'', ceoili's dolitor. Tliat riddle is throughout 
on a lower plane. See, however, 465, lieoilnes dohtor. 

80 7 on 'wlonciiiii ■wlcj'O. Cf. Maid. 2.|o, on wlancan I'fun wicge ; Rid. 20 1-2, 
S R H (liors) hygewloncne. 

809-10 As ivo&bora is used in 3224 of the riddle-solver, and as .;'vc,/ is else- 
where ap])lied to a riddle (56 i.|, see my note), it is easy to fancy that our thirsty 
riddler is here giving a sly hint. I'or a careful study of the word 'ivo&bora, in its 
many meanings, see Merbot, Aesl/ietisclie Stiidien zur uy;s. Poesie, pp. 5-7. Budde, 
p. 33, points out that the frecpient introduction of drinking situations into these 
enigmas seems to show that riddle-guessing was a part of the entertainment 
at feasts. 



NOTES 219 

RIDDLE 81 

Dietrich (XII, 234-235) rejects his earlier answer, 'Ship' (XI, 483), and ac- 
cepts Professor Lange's solution, 'Maskenhelm.' lie says in his note: 'Das haupt 
des an bnist und nacken ausgebognen helms ist der obere erhohte grat oder rand, 
der das eberzeichen als h?alnic stcort tragt, der fuss ist das nackenstiick, auf dem 
der helm abgenommen steht, das luard itcbb ist das nasenstiick oder der steg der 
maske, die den mund unljedeckt liisst ; das elend (regenstrijme, hagel, reif und 
schnee) erduldet der helm, wenn ihn der krieger, der die lanze {^wudic) regt, auf 
seinem haupte tragt, wodurch er " wohnung Uber den mannern " hat.' This solu- 
tion, which IJrooke modifies to 'Visor' {E. E. Lit., p. 127) and translates in part 
(p. 124), is certainly less apt than the ' Wetterhahn ' or ' Weathercock ' of Traut- 
mann {^Aiiglia, Bb. V, 50), which meets all the conditions of the problem. It is 
jniff-breasted and swollen-necked ; it has a head and a high tail, eyes and ears, 
one foot, back and hard beak, high nape and two sides. It has a dwelling-place 
over men. It suffers wretchedness when it is moved by the wind, which is de- 
scribed in the periphrase, 81 7'', se he "wtidn hrere& (so the Wind-storm says in 
Kid. 2 8, ic tviidit lircre), and when it is beaten by the elements. So one speaks 
fittingly of a ' Weathercock,' and not of a ' Helmet.' Indeed the wind-motif ap- 
pears in the German ' Wetterhahn ' riddle, which has an honorable history (Wos- 
sidlo, No. 104, notes ; Friedreich, p. 207) : 

Sich in alien Winden erhebet, 

Und wann die wiiteri, 

Muss er daiin fleissiger hiiten. 

No use of the word ' Weathercock' is recorded in Anglo-Saxon — indeed, before 
the wedercoc of the Aycnbite of Iinoit, E.E. T.S. XXIll, 1.S66, p. iSo (cited by 
Bradley-Stratmann) — l)ut I note in the excellent illustration of an Anglo-Saxon 
mansion (MS. llarl. 603, f. 67 V.; Wright, Domestic Manners, p. 15) a pennant- 
shaped vane (/ana). Weathervanes, not only on land but at sea, are frequently 
mentioned in the Old Norse sagas (Cleasby-Vigfusson, s.wfuiii). 

81 I b.vlf;<'<ll>i"rM)st. The MS. form, byledbri'ost, is open to two objections: it 
is impossible metrically, and the first member of the compound is a hapax unsus- 
tained by the evidence of cognates. The word suggested satisfies both meter and 
sense, if byl_^ed is taken in its primitive meaning of 'swollen,' ' inflated' (cf. bylg, 
belg, 'bag,' 'bellows'). Gcbyljred'x?, found elsewhere (B.-T., p. 37S) in the derived 
sense of ' made angry,' ' caused to swell.' 

81 5'' sag[ol]. Thorpe conjectures sac ('a sack'). latmiiller {W'orterbiich) 
renders sdg 'onus'; and Grein, Dic/it., ' eine senkung'; but in Spr. 11, 387, ' sag 
(ndd. seeg), " Hundel," "Last?" ace. ic (sc. scipl) luebbe sag on middan — vgl. 
jedoch auch mhd. seige and altn. sirgr.' Dietrich explains the word (XI, 483): 
'eine offnung auf dem verdeck zum hinabsenkung {.urgan) der waaren (cf. 339, 
muS wx'S on middan).' B.-T., p. 813, cites the word, l)ut does not translate, and 
Sweet does not include it in his Diet. The Dicht. translation, 'a sinking,' alone 
fits the proper solution, 'Weathercock,' and may describe the bird's back between 
the ' high neck ' (1. 4) and ' high tail ' (1. 2). Mod. Eng. sag is connected by Skeat, 



220 kiDDi.i'-.s oi' iiii'; i:\i':ri:K hook 

/''.tyin. J^iit., s. v., vvitli Swed. .uuku ;nul (icim. \,i<k<-ii\ aiul lie suggests a possible 
i<)nfusi(»ii willi sixiiit, 'to sink.' I slioiihl likf to suggest the word sdi^o/, 'staff,' 
wliiili glosses llic l„il. fiistis, ;uul is used of 'llic rods or holts (7'C(lcs) thrust 
liiiougli lings to bc.ii (he :iik' (Cimi PustoKilis, Sweet, ]). 171, 5 12). This might 
well .ipi'ly lo llic lod wlii< h |)ierces the Weathercock, and upon whit h it turns. 
.\cti;(>/ would llicn lie in u.ilund ajiiiosition to lUird ofcr ,7/(/iiiii (1. (>) antl would ex- 
plain J,yi r/:i',>ii!i'iii- (1. 1 1). 

81 d'' Aj'hir <lr«'<>{!;<'. Cf. /)ii)i. 2j>S, )>a;r hie )'a,"t agliic drugon. 

81 7 1>;«T iiu'c wcucA. Sievers proposes 7tiuxt-& on melriial grounds, hut our 
word is elsewhere used, as here, of movement hy the wind {sit/>r<i) : AM. 7 35, J>eah 
hit wecge wiiul. 'I'lu' half line is of the A-ty])e (S ^\ ^'j x) common in the A'li/- 
<//<A (hilrodui li.Mi). 

81 h'' st.n'anias l)t>ii(a'i>. C(. 3''', sticainas slahu hialaN (note). 

Si') !■■ (f. AVi/. 41 5.1-55, se heaida foisl | lunn hrorugrimina. Instead of the 
[/,i]r.\[/ ,i;rr,7].yf& of llolthausen, /.'/■. IX, j^S, I supply with aid of 1'.. M. [,>//,/ 
/"]('/m/ [///■]("•('.l•6•c^. Ihrosiiii is the wold always found in like < oiilc.xl : /'//. 60, 
I'iT'i lie h.igl lie Iniiii linosaiN |o loldan ; // i/z/i/. .(S, hicosan hiiin ond siiaw liagle 
gciiicni;cd ; U'.i/i,/. 10.', luiiN h 1 coscikIi' ; elf. 

81 11 |<>ii| I'.vreUvoiiihiK'. 'I'lu- addition seems necessary to the context, hut 
not lo the iiiclei, as elscw lui <■ in (he A'/,/,//i:\\ 45 .;, 91 5, the adj. /)J;r/, ' i)erforated,' 
li.is .1 long lool syll.dilc, while (he noun/>ivv/, 'hole,' has a short one, 16 21, 728. 
The nicaning, ' ha\ iiig the stomach pierced,' is explained by my reading of sdi^vl 
for ^■tl^;^ in line 5 (,iv//;v/). 

Kl 1)1)1,1', H2 

The few siallered phrases of this fragmentary riddle give no clue to the solution. 

82 i <»r(>a(i> s^v^lg;<•^V. I'ethaps, j,'7V(;/<- .iTiv/'.'vvi' ; cf. (/Vw. 909, |>u scealt greot etan. 
82 .( K |<"ll lie II;. 'sc. (I. 77 .;. 

82 '■ iiiji'la /Lieliwaiii. » 1. 33 1 .•, geara geliwani ; 61 '>, fihlna gehw.lm. 

KlDDl.f. S.". 

TiuMC is lillle diltereiKc ol oi>iinoii .iiiioii!; solvers regarding the answer lo this. 
Allagieelli.il il is a iiul.il, siilijei led lollie ll.imes ( j h, :; h, .| a). I'.ul Dietrich 
(\l, .|.S,|) helieves llie suhjeii lo he '()ie'; and Tiaulin.mn, 'Ciold.' It has 
something in iimuiikui with Svnipliosius iji {/\u iinui) : 

I'lM.i liii |iiin\ci. l.Ueliiis alisi (inilil.i diiis (.'» terrae) ; 
Nunc .iliiicl prcliiiin ll.iiniu.ic niinu-n(|ue (le<lenuit, 
Ner ).in\ Irn.i Vcudi, liiel cs me Irn.i p.inliii. 

While llu-ie ,ue no del.iilecl likeiiess<'S helween tins .iiul the .\nglo .Sa xon, there 
is (he same genei.il litldle niol i\ c ol i h.inge of eondilion ihioiigh lire; hill this 
in.iy he ineie loiiu idenre. .\i lonling lo Dieliieli. Ihe sul)ject's foe (jh S) was 
Til ha 1 ( .liii, ' an iiisl 1 lu loi of e\ci y .11 lilieei in hi.iss .iiul iion ' ((ienesis iv, 2 2)\ and 
Ihe 'ia]>ri\ilv iiuiled" (o 10.1) is due lo llie \\e.i]ions 111. ide from iron. Perhaps 
Ihese lines may refer to chains, or to the e\ ils < .iiised hy money (1 Timothy vi, 10, 



N()li;.S 22 1 

' tlic love of moni-y is the iodI of ;ill r\ il '). 'I ho l;isl piiil of llu; pidhh'iii { kj li i ,| ) 
sc'L-ms to luu to indii'iili' ' ( iold ' ;iii(l ils s<!( id ways and works. ()ic, of wlialcvcr 
metal, fulfills all i oiulilions. 

Hcde in his luil. //isL i, i (Miiicr, 26, 14) tells us of Juif^laiul {/ireo/oii) -. Mil 
is cac bcreiule on wecga oiuni arcs and Isurnus, leadcs and siiolfics. Keniblc, 
Sii.xoiis in Kni;liiiit/, 1S75, II, 70, after noting many charters in which salt-mines 
are mentioned, points to tlie grant of Oswini of Kent in 689 to Rochester, deeding 
a plow land at I.yminge in wiiicli lie says there is a mine of iron {C'o(/f\ Dipl. 
No. 50). Ki'nil)l(,', i.e., believes the Isciii^ntfiis of Cod. />i/</. 1 1 iS lo he iron min(;s. 
.And in I lie / ',<iiil<i(l<nifs we meet tserii ore, 'ferri fodina, in (jno loco fen nun lodiiur ' 
(see also {{.-T,, s. v. c/v/). 'The smell ing in the I''orest oi Mean is said lo have i)een 
carried on continuously sim r knm.m limes; and this is (piilc piobable also in 
regard to the tin mines of Cornwall and liie lead mines at the l^eak ' (( 'unningham, 
'I'/u- iinnvth of /•'.ni^lisli liitlustrv oiid CoiiiDicrcc, 1890, I, 62). The Merchant in 
the ('o//oi/iiy (WW, t/t) brings, among otiicr waics, ' a.'S el stagnum ' (u-r ,iii<l tin) to 
his iMiglish customers. 

831 Dietrich (XI, 484) compares l\i<i. 541, fmd daf^nni (l)rc)\ 73!, gcaruin 
frodne (tree) ; and 936, da'grime frod (stui^). The unhappy ( hange of stale of the 
Ore is another motive that k'nl. 83 lias in common willi l\i<l. 54, 73, 93. 

8323 Ilollhausen's emendations, Ani;liti XXIV, 265 \i>ic(\ and y/iirfde l?oJ\- 
loera, miss the point of the ])assage, though his suggestion of llge is happy, /ieow. 
2322-2323 helps us greatly here : 

II;efcle landwara Uk<' '"'fangcn, 
biele ond hrmulr. 

So I was inclined to read in 83 t, \thrf(li- loiid\-,V(irii li^n- hntiiiin/nt, and to regard 
londwara as an enigmatir reference to the ores, which are surely 'surrounded by 
flame and purified by fire.' Hut this is contradicted by letter-fragments in 15. M. 

832'' bji'los wcard. Tiiis refers, I think, to Tubal (ain, the for/xui /iro/.or of 
line 5 (see note). 

833'' ITrc^ Ih'WiiihIcii. <'f. /u;no. 5146 3147, swogende leg | wope bewnnden ; 
C/ir. 1538, lege gebnndne ; /\i</. 31 2 (legbysig), bewunden mid wnldre. 

83.1 KcffT'Ifiiul. l''or a caieful discussion of the meanings of i^efrflsioii, see 
Cook's note to Clir. 320. It is used only here of ' cleansing by fire.' — lull war»u>. 
Cf. 93 2f), Nu min hord waraiN iilj-enchr feond. 

835 «'or]7aii hroljor. The isarth is called '(he mother and sister' of men 
(liody and Soul) in h'id. 44 . |. Sec! also the /V.-w h'u/dir, cited in my note- to 
that passage. This phrase, eor/uiii brdj.or, well accords with the Anglo Sa.xoii 
concei)lion of Tubal-cain, as revealed in the illuminated manusc \\\)\s. In (Oiion 
Claudius 15. IV, f. 10, a picture of Tubal cain at work at his forge bears the in- 
scri|)tion '/'nl'iilaiin s? wus (7i,'/.<v-,(,'-ir j,W(/i////>t .i,r Ire>is)ni&. And in the ("a'dmon 
manuscript (Archaeoloi^ia XXIV, pi. xxviii), he appears in his two roles of smith 
and plowman — in either case, a 'brother of the earth.' He is thus described in 
Ge>i. 1082 f. : 

Swylcc on Sa-re niSgiJe mlga wa;s haten 
on |>a ilcan tid Tubal Cain, 



222 Ki 1)1)1. i:s ()!■■ 'nil". I'.xi'/riCK r.ooK 

sC- I'lnli sn\li(i spril snii,N ira'ftcga wa'S 

ami I'utIi iiuhIis m-m\ii(l iiinriiia il'vcst 

sunn l.iiinlics siillim'wcdrrc-s, 

liimia wa'S dlcr (dliiaii: siNiNaii lolca beam 

;T'ifs cfiiNon aiul isciiics 

burlisittciidc brfican wide. 

83 7 iTfjjr-ltc. Sic\cis, /'/)'/>'. \, si.v t'stalilislies the lci\!;lh of the rool-vowel liy 
cousideralion of lliis, aiul dtlicr cxainples in \\\v pocivy. 

83 s'' Nolo the omission of I lie \fi I) after an auxiliaiv veil). '!"hc half-line recalls 
the l.u k of ri'dress of the Swoicl (21 17), anil of the lloin (93 i./). 

83 !'■ AV<»iif>as is here used as a ])oetieal e.xpression for ' the earth.' .See A'/</. 
13 .', 41 51, S; ; anil eonipare Cook's note to C//>: 6S0, wonga. 

83 M.'' Il;i'l>l>(> !<• wiiiHlrii I'ola. Cf. 22 S, ha-bbe wundra fela (//cti') ; /u'oti'. 
.|oS, h.ibbe ii' nia-riNa fela (Sarra/.in, neo'iOiilf-Stiiilicii, ]i. 12.S). 

83 I-- 11 ('oni])are the final motive of the Moon riddles (30,95). Very striking 
is llu' veibal likeness between 83 12 and 95 i.(, mine (i.e. swa)'e) bemi|)e nionna 
gehwylcuni. 

83 13 ilegoiriilnc (loin. C'f. I's. 147 9, his domas digle. 



KTDDI.K 84 

Dietrich (XI, 484) gives the answer ' Water,' which remains unquestioned. 
He points out the likeness of 84.1, Moiior is mouigra »i<7rra ivihta, to Aldhelm 
iii, I {.Itftm) .(-5 : 

Nam volucn-s lai-li nantesqiu' jior accniora pisces 
()liin suniiisiMunt iw nir pi iniDi di.i vitae, 

and of 84 (>'' •)' to Aldhehn iv, 1 | (/•iv/.v) 3-4: 

Quis minierus capiat vrl ([nis latcrciilus acquct 
\'ita viveiitiuni goncrrni qudt niillia p.ntii. 

As I'lehn claims (p. -5',), this ]noblcm has certain motives in common with the 
AiUjiior enigma of I'.usebius, No. j^. t'ompare the wild course of the 'Water' 
(84 13) with the lirsl line of the Latin, ' Motor curro, fero velox, nee desero 
sedem'; and the water's burden, 8443, hih stdiiiim />L-str£j>c'<f^ with luisebius 234, 
' Desuper aut multis sternor.' Hut there are reasons for regarding these likenesses 
to i'.usebius as coincidences ent.iileil by a common source .mil the di'm.nids i>f the 
subject. The ojicning lines of AW. 84 and of I'.usebius Jj are both ins])ired by 
Aldhelm iv, 14 1 j : 

Per cava telliuis clam serpo cclerrimus antra, 
Flexos venarvim gyrans anfractibiis orbes. 

.\nd in its ])icture of the Water's burdens our riddle is not as close to l'",usebius 
as to i'liny's ,11 count of W.iter, .\\itiir,i/ History .\x.\i, 2, ' Saepe etiam lapides 
sub\chunt, poit.mtes ali.i pondera.' Still another motive, that of the ships 
(84 Ji::), is far more clearly expressed in .Mdhelm iii, i j, ' Dum virtute fero 



N()ri:s 223 

silvarum rohnia niille,' thrin in Kiisol)iii.s 232, 'tarn fjrandia ijoiulura poito.' 
The description of the Water's cover, 8439, o/t ulait l<c-ii<eorpe& dure }>cceHC, is in 
striking contrast to Eusebius 233, 'Nix neque me tegit,' etc. Finally, 'Water' 
riddles with as close resemblances to RUi. 84 are found in other countries and 
other times (JJrussels MS. 6o.}, 12th century; Mone, Aiizei!:;er VIII, 40, No. 48). 
84 r The emendation of Hiilbring (see 'l"e.\t) is sustained l)y Rid. 51 i, Wiga is 
on eorl'an wundruni Tk enned. 

842 hreoli Olid i-<>|><'. //rro/i is often applied to Water (^V//. 1325, /V. TxS 1, 
Jn?oli 'U'ifler, etc. ; sec A/v. II, 103, for many examples), as is also ;■,'/"' (/"'/. 349, 
rehe streamas). See Dieiiicii (XI, 4X4). — liarai)' ryiic stroiiKiic. Cf. C,V//. 159, 
(waiter) |'a nu under rotlerum heora ryne healdaN. The opening lines of 84 sug- 
gest the Storm riddles (2 — 3 5). 

843 KryiiicliiO'. So of Water, /'aii. 7, brim grymetende. — be fii-uiidc I'arcrt'. 
Cf. A'li/. 22 .;, be grunde gr;vfe. 

84.1 Cf. 42 .', mnddor monigra cynna {'water''.) 

84 5'' fiinclafli a-iVc. Compare the description of Water in Sal. 392 f. : 

Ac foriuvSm winneS (Sis wa'ter gcond woroldrlcc, 
dreogeS deop gesceaft, ne mot on da-g restan, 
neahtes ne SyS, cra;fte ty S i 



Ic wilitc ne cann 
forlnvan se stream ne n)ot slillaii neahtes. 



This superstition is found in .Slnu^^shiiri^cr Rlitscll'iicli., No. 52, and is there traced 
Id Aristotle. 

846-9 Here the riddler must have had in mind T'salms civ, 25, 'So is this 
great and wide sea, '.olicrcin are thim^s creeping; innumerable, both small and great 
beasts.'' Compare the Anglo Sa.xon poetic version (1032.)): 

His is mycel sie ond on gemajruni wid : 
)>;er is imrim on ealra cvvycra, 
niycelra ond ma-tra. 

847'' wordiini g«'cy)>aii. Cf. Whale, 2 b, wordum cy[>an. 
849 Cf. Gn. Cot. 61-62 : 

Is seo forcSgesceaft 
digol (ind dyrnc, Drihten ana wat. 

Willi the reference lo the Creation (849-ro) cf. 41 i-s. 

84 I', or <iii(l «'ihI<'. ('.{. Met. 20 275, .-///(/. 556 b, fruma ond ende. In his note 
Krai)p, |). Ill, cites ]\evelati(jn i, 8, i i ; xxi, 6; xxii, 13. 

84 II mootiKU's Ix'arii. So Chr. 126. Grein's addition, his milita sped, finds 
warrant iK)t only in 1'. M. word-fragments but in the fref|uency of this phrase (.S/;-. 1 1, 
236). r read ineahia, as this accords with the forms in the Kiddles (see Olossary). 

84 19 wlltl<j oimI Avyn.siiiii. So Sat. 214, Pan. 65, Ph. 203,318 . 

8421-22 For metrical reasons, Holthausen, Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 210, does 
violence to the MS. readings (see text and variants); but no changes are neces- 
sary, as examples of the A-type >\'ith second stressed syllable short (_^ X ( X ) | 



224 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

^ X) are found elsewhere in the Riddles (i8 n, 24 i, 39 6, 7, 43 n, 47 6, etc.; cf. 
Sievers, PBB. X, 458; Herzfeld, pp. 44, 49). 28 13-14, streiigo bisfoleii . . . mu-ge>ie 
biintiiieii, are exactly parallel to the present lines. The metrical a-priorism of 
Holthausen is dangerous. 

8421 wistuin gphladen. According to Grein, Sp}-. II, 721, the Water is so 
described ' als Heimat der essbaren Fische.' But this and the parallel phrases 
(11. 21-22) may refer to the ships upon the sea (supra). Of the Ship in 33 n we 
are told, 7vist in 7vii^t'&. 

8425 ^vuklorgimm Avloncmii getenge. Cf. El. 11 14, godgimmas grunde 
getenge (Herzfeld, p. 19). 

84 29 gifrost ond grtedgost. Cf. Seaf. 62, gifre and grSdig; Gen. 793, grje- 
dige ond gifre ; Sat. 32, 192 ; .Soul 74, gifre ond griedige. 

84 30 pjBS ]7e. This is rendered by Thorpe 'from the time that,' and by Grein, 
Dic/it., ' von allem was.' The use of the phrase after superlatives (see 1. 29) is 
illustrated by the very similar passage C//r. 71--73: 

Eala wifa wynn geond wuldres |>rym, 
fsemne freolicast ofer ealne foldan sceat 
[>xs \>c a-fre sundbuend secgan hyrdon. 

Cook renders 'as far as' (see Spr. II, 576); and this may be the meaning in the 
Riddle line. Cf. also Met. 28 33, /(/"j^ J^e moniutni />iiu'&, ' as far as it seems to men.' 
In the not unlike clause in the other ' Water' riddle, 42 4, 5, hass deorestan, J>3es 
he dryhta beam . . . agen, f^irs J^e is the simple relative attracted to the case of its 
antecedent. In both cases the subjunctive follows (Madert, p. 97). 

8431 a'Ida beam. So 95 10; Seaf. 77; cf. lVo>id. 99, Slda bearna ; C/ir. 936, 
ielda bearnum. 

84 32 Grein, reading luczgeit for MS. vicrge, translates {Dic/it.) 'der Weltkinder 
Menge, wie das webt die Glorie.' Dietrich notes (XI, 485), wtildor — wintdor (90 3, 
gloriam). But Thorpe was on the right track when he rendered the line 'So 
that glorious woman {7ii!ildor-7oife&), world-children's daughter.' My change to 
-wuldor wifa is supported by iMeit. 149, wlfa -witldor, 'glorious woman' (cf. C/ir. 
71, ■n'Tfa icy nil, cited supra). I regard the line as parenthetical, and translate ' So 
(lives) the glorious woman, kinswoman of world bairns.' J\/ccge, which carries the 
meaning of 'mother' not only in Beow. 1390, Greiidles fiidgan, but in Rid. 10 4, is 
aptly applied to the Water, which in this riddle is vidd{d)or (11. 4, 20). 

84 33-34 This clause, I believe, points back to the superlatives in lines 2S-29 : 
' most greedy and rapacious . . . though a man, wise in spirit, learned in mind, 
may have e.xperienced a multitude of wonders.' That is to say, 'whatever a man's 
experience, he is yet to learn of anything more greedy,' etc. 

84 33 fer]7um glea^v. Cf. 60 2'', mSdum gleawe (note). 

84 34 mode snottor. Cf. 86 2, mode snottre ; Fwd. 87, modes snottor. See 
mod-suottor {Spr. II, 260). 

8435-36 These comparatives recall the 'Creation' riddle (cf. 4155). Ilnlsan 
heardra is clearly a reference to the ice-form of water (see line 39). ' I/d-leJiUfn 
frodra ist zu verstehen wie 83 i und geht vvieder auf die schopfungsgeschichte, 
wonach wasser viel eher als der mensch vorhanden war' (Dietrich, XI, 485). 



NOTES • 225 

84 37 ■\vjBstnium tytlre'S. The riddler may have had in mind Ps. 64 n, waeter 
ymende wa^stme tyddraS. Cf. Ps. 103 16, wasstme tydraS. So in the ' Water ' riddle 
(Brussels MS. 604 d, Mone, A>tz. VIII, 40) : ' Exeo frigida, sicca satis, nemus exalo, 
rideo pratis.' 

84 3S Cf. Sill. 395, cristna'^" ond clSnsa'5 cwicra manigo (roater). In /Irene 
dwiesLe& Dietrich (XI, 4S5) rightly finds a reference to holy water, and cites the 
passage from the Sige-wii/Ji Interrogationes (see MacLean, Anglia VII, 6), in which 
the Water is declared exempt from the curse placed upon the Earth after Adam's 
fall, because God had decided ' )'a;t he wolde \>\xx\\. waster J>a synne adylgian j?e se 
man Jjurhteah.' 

84 40 Cf. And. 543, wuldre gewlitegad ofer werl^eoda. So of Water, Sal. 396, 
wuldre gewlitigaiS. 

84 41-44 Cf. Rtd. 4 7-10. 

8444 timbred weall. Cf. Gen. 1691-1692, weall stSnenne | up forS timbran. 

84 46 hriisan lirlne'O. Cf. 67 5, grundum ic hrine. 

84 53 I do not accept the hord ivord\a'\ of Holthausen, Anglia XXIV, 265, be- 
cause it forces upon us a change in the text, and because word-hord is the ordi- 
nary phrase. G\es^vuteld\ of Holthausen is a possible addition (see Chr. 9, 
gesweotula; 8423, gesweotlad). But so are many other words beginning with g. 
Little is gained by such guesswork. 

84 54 Holthausen's emendation \7vtsddm on'\wreoh is supported by El. 674, 
wisdSm onwreon. 

RIDDLE 85 

As Dietrich has pointed out (XI, 454), the source of this 'Flood and Fish' 
enigma is the twelfth riddle of Symphosius : 

Est domus in terris, clara quae voce resultat : 
Ipsa domus resonat, tacitus sed non sonat hospes ; 
Ambo tamen currunt, hospes simul et domus una. 

I have traced the history of this [M. L. A'. XVIII, 3) : it is found in the Dispu- 
tiitio Pippini et Alhini {//aitpts Zs. XIV, 543), No. 93, in the Flores of Bede 
(Migne, P. Z., XCIV, 539), in Bern MS. 611, No. 30 {Anth. Lat. I, 360), and 
in the Apolloniits of Tyre (Weismann, Alexander, 1850, I, 480). So it came 
into the Gesta R'omaiiorum, cap. 153, and passed then into the possession of the 
people {Strassbtirg Rb., No. 109; Simrock^, p. 14). The motive is found as far 
afield as Turkey {Urqiiell IV, 22, No. 10). A second problem {M. L. N. XVIII, 5) 
with the separate motive of ' the house escaping from robbers (the net), while 
the guest is captured,' lives at present in many French, German, Italian, and 
English forms (Holland, No. 71 ; Petsch, p. 13S), and has been noted by me in 
13th-century Latin dress (MS. Arundel 292, f. 114; Wright, Altdcutsche Blatter 
II, 148). The two motives are found side by side in Strasshurg Rb., Nos. 108-109, 
and are finally combined in a Russian version (Sadovnikon, Zagadki Rousskago 
A'aroda Sostavil, St. Petersburg, 1876, No. 1623) discussed by Gaston Paris (In- 
troduction to Rolland, p. i.\). 



226 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

Two motives are added by the Anglo-Saxon to those of Symphosius. The 
first, that of difference between guest and house (3 b-5), is found in the Strass- 
burg riddle (109) : 

Etwan (nit wan) die gcst in kurtzer beyt, 

Floch es von mir on arbcit : 

Stunden die gest gar still, 

Gar bald darnoch in kurtzer zeit 

Die gest audi tiolien wieder streit, etc. 

and in the Turkish {sjipra), ' Ich gehe, es geht auch ; ich bleibe stehen, es bleibt 
nicht steiien ' {IVcisser). The second — a 'living and dead' motive — is an addi- 
tion found only in our query. 

85 2-3 Cf. Geii. 903-905, I'il nxdran sceop nergend usser . . . wide si^'as. 

85 2 To the yml> \_(iro/it mi)iiie'\ of Holthausen, /. F. IV, 3SS, I greatly prefer 
yinb line [i/o/utis liyde'] (see Ps. 118 65, 139 12). With drihten for MS. driJit cf. 
(h-yhtiies for MS. dry /it (60 n). J>ri/U is sometimes used as an abbreviation for 
all cases of drihten (see 15. -T., jjp. 213, 216). 

85 3'' Cf. 41 <j4, ic eom swT)>ra honne he. With stviftre compare streiii^ra and 
Jireo/itis^ra (1. 4), and note just such inconsistency in gender as in the 'Creation' 
riddle (passim). 

85 5 l*'or vriiaii of MS. and editors I substitute riniiaii, on account of the 
alliteration. 

85 6'' Cf. /•;<■</. S, a I'cnden \>\\ lifge. 

85 7'^ ine bid' dead' -vvitod. Cf. 16 n, him bil« dcaN witod. 



Rimn.E 80 

Dietrich's first solution, 'Organ ' (XI, 485), is accepted by Padelford, Old Eng- 
lish Musical Terms, p. 46. ' Ich denke,' says Dietrich, ' an die orgel des weltlichen 
gebrauchs, die schon sehr friih bekannt war, und zwar mit tausenden von pfeifen 
— gestutzt auf Aldelmus de Laud. Virg. s. 13S, maxima millenis auscultans organa 
flabris^ Later Dietrich recognized (XII, 248, note) that the riddle was simply an 
expansion of the second line of the ' Luscus allium vendens ' enigma (No. 94) of 
Symphosius: ' Unus inest oculus, capitum sed milia multa' (3a, 4b). The other 
traits fit perfectly the solution 'One-eyed Garlic-seller' — as they are not 'mon- 
ster ' but natural human attributes (see Prehn, p. 255). Miiller, C.P., p. 19, accepts 
this solution. 

86 I Wiht <>^voIll {;oii<5aii. Cf. 35 1, Wiht cwdm . . . lihan ; 55 i, Ilyse cwom 
gangan. — woras .sieton. Cf. 47 i, wer sa^t a^t wine, etc. 

862 inonigc on inaVOle. Cf. jlnd. 1626, manige on meSle; Ov<y?. 41-42, sum 
in ma'iMe mxg modsnottera | folcrSdenne for'S gehycgan, etc. Padelford asserts, 
in support of his 'Organ' solution, that 'this line is more suggestive of a congre- 
gation and of worship than of a social gathering ' ; but the above examples and 
other instances of mir&l {Spr. II, 214) do not sustain his view. The phrase here 
has no very definite meaning. — mode suottrc. See note to 8434. In this pas- 
sage the expression is quite lifeless. 



NOTES 22 7 

86 .? f. With tins enumeration of traits compare the other 'Monster' riddles 
32. 33- 37- 59. 81. 

864'' nvcirimiKl hf-alVla. Dietrich notes (XII, 249) that 'die capitum inillia 
multa sind der alliteration mit hvegeii Jet zu gefallen durch XII hiuid hcafda 
gegeben.' 

RIDDLE 87 

According to Dietrich (XI, 4S5), we have in this riddle 'Cask and Cooper.' 
'Heaven's tooth' (5a), he thinks, is 'the thundering wedge,' while 'the eye' 
(6a) is 'the bung-hole.' The problem is obviously a companion-piece to Rid. 38. 
Its subject, like the ' Bellows ' of the earlier query, has a great belly (i b-2 a) and 
is followed by ' a servant, a man famous for his strength ' (2 b-3 a). With Miiller 
(Cy., p. 19) and Trautmann {Aiijrlia, Bb. V, 50), I accept for this also the answer 
' Bellows.' 5 a, heofones toW, and 6 a, b/ecnu on eage, speak strongly for this 
interpretation {infra). 

87 1-3 For verbal parallels, see Hid. 38 (notes), and the fragment, Rid. 89. 

875 heofones toJ>e. Dietrich (XI, 485) explained this as 'the thundering 
wedge' {supra), and Miiller {C. /'., p. 19) as 'the hammer of the smith.' Holt- 
hausen, Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 210, would read he of on his take, for to him 'der 
" himmelszahn " ist doch zu kindlich.' Properly interpreted, ' heaven's tooth ' is 
one of the most striking metaphors in riddle-poetry. It is applied to the Wind, 
whose bite is the theme of other enigmas ; cf. MS. Bern. 611,414, Afith. Lat. I, 364 : 

Mordeo sed cunctos silvis campisquc niorantes. 

See Shakespeare's reference to the tooth of the Wind in Amiens's song, A. V. L. ii, 
7, 175. This interpretation exactly accords with the 'Bellows' answer to our riddle. 

876 bleow on eage. Cf. 384, fleah J)urh his cage {bellows). See also Wulf- 
stan. Homilies, 146,27 — 147,6, Heah man ))one garsecg embsette mid byligeon . . . 
and to Sghwylcum )>aEra byligea waere man geset . . . ond man bleowe mid })am 
byligeon, etc. 

87 7 wanorte. Thorpe and Grein's hancode, for MS. wancode, finds a certain 
support in the similar riddle-fragment 89 7, honcade, but it is ruled out of court by 
the alliteration, which here demands a to. To loancode, a nonce-usage unrecog- 
nized by the dictionaries, I prefer waiiode, ' decreased,' ' diminished,' which is in 
perfect keeping with meter, context, and subject ' Bellows.' 



RIDDLE 88 

This riddle, according to Dietrich's correct interpretation (XI, 485-486), is one 
of the Horn riddles (see Rid. 15, 80, 93), and its subject is the Stag-horn, which 
once stood with its brother, the other horn, on the animal's head (88 12-15'). pro- 
tected by forest trees from night storms (15 b-17 a), until replaced by fresh antlers 
(18-20 a). Separated now from its brother, with whom it had shared many battles 
(29-3')' it is torn and injured by monsters or adverse fates (32-33 a), and is 
placed 'on wood at the end of a board' (22b-23a). Apart from likenesses of 



228 RIDDLES OK THE EXETER ROOK 

tliis to Rid. 11 and 52 and particularly to Rid. 93, which T note below, the most 
striking analogue to tlie problem is found in the modern English riddle of Wit 
N^ewly Revived, 17 So, p. 1 1 : 

• Divided from my brother now, 
I am companion for mankind ; 
I that but lately stood for show, 
Do now express my master's nund. 

It is an ox's horn made into a lumting-liorn, etc. by the brotiier is meant tlie other 
horn that grew with it; and the expressing; of tlie mind hy tlie sounding of it.' 

But the last line of the modern riddle seems to show that this, like Rid. 88, 93, 
is an ' Inkhorn ' enigma. 

The aim and end of our riddle have been completely misunderstood by all 
scholars. Dietrich (XI, 486) says : ' Wenn nun das horn sagt, jetzt steht es auf 
holz {Bemo. 13 18, Iieahinidii) am ende des bretes und miisse da bruderlos fest- 
stehen, so ergiebt sich, es ist das dem giebel des ehedem meist holzernen hauses 
zum schmuck dienendey?;'.r///(';-//. [Dietrich cites Ruin, 23, heah horngestreon ; 
Rid. 4 8, hornsalu ; Beow. 705, hornreced.] Um da aufgesteckt werden zu konnen 
muste der untere theil des homes innerlich ausgebohrt werden, daher die klage 
iiber das aufreissen (88 33-34), wodurch der suchende, d. h. der pflock der es 
tragen soil, gelingen findet.' Upon this interpretation of Dietrich, Heyne, Halle 
Heorot, p. 44, bases the statement that the antlers were divided and that one 
horn was placed upon the western or southern, the other upon the eastern 
end of the roof. Brooke, too {E. E. Lit., p. 142), renders 8822-23 'Now 1 stand 
on wood at the end of a beam (that is, at the end of the roof-ridge of a hall).' 
It is safe to assert that we have not in our riddle the slightest reference to the 
stag-horns on the gable (see MS. Ilarl. 603, f. 67 v., Wright, Domestic MiUDiers, 
p. 14), and that the fantastic picture drawn by Ileyne (1. c.) of the great horn at each 
end of the roof must be erased, as it is derived from Dietrich's misconception of 
8822-25. This riddle, like Rid. 93, is a poem of the Tnkhoin. which 'stands on 
wood at the end of the board' — the desk or table (for illustrations of this 
j)lace of the Horn, see MS. Royal 10. A. 13, \Vestwo(^d, I-'arsiniiles, p. 12S; 
Betiedictioiial of .l-'.thelioold, 12th miniature, ib. p. 132; cf. also ib. jiji. 141, 
143). As in 93 IS f., the Horn is hollowed out bv knives (88 32-33), so as to serve 
for an ink-vessel. He who follows the trail of the ink (88 34, xt ham spore ; cf. 
27 8, spyrige {/>eii), 52 2, swearte . . . lastas {ink-tracl-s)) finds prosperity {infra) 
— and soul's counsel. The back of the Horn is 7vofin oud wiindorlic (88 22) ; so 
its rim is called hruiiiie l>>-erd (27 9). Or the riddler may have in mind the ink 
that fills its back and belly (see 9322-23, Nu ic blace swelge | wuda ond wa;tre). 
As will be shown later, Dietrich is equally unfortunate in his interpretation of 
certain parts of Rid. 93. 

88 I Ic ■weox. The Riddles make frequent reference to the early growth of 
their subjects : 10 10, n 3, 54 3, 72 i f., 73 i. 

887 [st]6<l 10 on sta(Vol[e]. Cf. Drearn, 71, stodon on staSole ; Beow. 927, 
stod on stal'ole (MS. stapole). See Holthausen, Eiit^l. Stud. XXX VII, 209, 210. 

88 12 uploii^ stod. Cf. Exod. 303, uplang gestod ; Beo7C'. 760, uplang astod. 



NOTES 



229 



88 K^' -wonnuni nihtiini. Cf. h'eow. 703, on wanre niht ; Gu. looi, in )>isse 
wonnan niht ; J/t7. 1 1 61, ))a wonnan niht ; A'iJ. 13 9, deorcum nihtum. 

88 iS-2o'' The replacing of the old horns by new {i^iiigraii hro^o?-) is described in 
almost the same words in 93 13-14. 

8821 iinga ofcr corpan. Cf. Exod. 403, angan ofer eor'San. 

88 12-23 Thorpe, ignorant though he was of the solution, rendered literally and 
therefore correctly ' On wood I stand at the table's end.' This is strong though 
unwitting evidence to the naturalness of the 'Inkhorn' interpretation. Bord is 
fre(]uently used for 'table' both in poetry and prose (A)^r. I, 132-133; B.-T., p. 116; 
cf. Rid. 15 9 (Horn), l>ordiitn), and preserves this meaning in its later history. 

88 25 As the illustrations of the Inkhorn (cited supra) show, it -w^iS fastened to 
the desk or the table, for security's sake. See note to 27 g"*. 

8826-27 This may well be the lament of the Inkhorn for its lost ' brother,' but 
certainly not of the Gable-horn for its mate at the other end of the roof, as Heyne 
would have us think (see supra). 

88 27 eorjjan soeata. Cf. Kid. 68 16, eorj^an sceatas (note). 

88 29 saet'ce to frciiiinaiiiie. Cf. Beow. 2500, sascce fremman. For similar 
metrical types with uncontracted gerundial endings, see 29 12, 32 23, micel is to 
hycganne (-enne), etc. With the thought of the passage compare the very 
different enigmas, Kid. 15 i, Ic waes wSpenwiga (Jtorfi), and liusebius 30 1-2 {horn) : 

.•\rmorum fueram vice, meque tenebat in arniis 
Fortis, et armigeri gestabar vertice taiiri. 

88 30 ellen cycTdo. Cf. Becnv. 2696, ellen cySan. 

88 32 unsceafta. This is not included in any of the dictionaries, but is ren- 
dered by Thorpe 'monsters,' by Grein, Dickt., ' Ungeschick.' Both renderings 
are consistent with the meanings of gesceaft, but the first accords better with the 
context. The ' monsters ' are, of course, the iron and steel weapons that scrape 
and hollow out the Inkhorn, 93 15-18. 

88 33 1)0 Avoinbe. Of the contents of its womb or l)elly tlie Inkhorn speaks 
twice in 93 23, 28. — ic ge\veiidan ne ina>g. The thought is antithetical to the next 
line : ' I may not turn myself (i.e. move in any way), yet in my spoor or track, etc' 

88 34 spore and sped recall the speddropum and spyrige which describe the 
Ink-tracks 27 8. The spoor of the Ink is the path of life in Bede's /-'lores, xii 
(Afod. Phil. II, 562), for 'Viae ejus sunt semitae vitae ' refers to the holy words 
traced by the pen. So Aldhelm v, 3, De Penna Scriptoria : 

Scmita quin potius millcno tramite tendit, 
Quae non crrantcs ad caeli culmina vexit. 

8835 sawlc rSdos. So Met. 21 9; Leas. 42. 



RIDDLE 89 

This fragment, which is not printed by Thorpe and Grein, is, as Trautmann 
says {Bb. V, 50), ' giinzlich zerriittet.' IViht womhe Iinfd (1. 2) and lehre (3) recall 
the ' Leather Bottle' (19 3) and the ' Bellows' (38 i, 87 1), but the subject's 'belly' 



230 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

is mentioned in many riddles. J>}\s[aii (1. 6) and swiFseiidutit (1. S) suggest that 
we have to do with an article used at table — possibly a Leather Flask. But 
comment upon these few disjointed words and phrases is futile. 



RIDDLE !)0 

Dietrich (XI, 4S6), regards the different meanings of lupus as the subject of the 
Latin enigma, Rid. 90. ' A lupus is held by a lamb and disemboweled : the pike. 
The two wolves which stand and trouble a third, and which have four feet and see 
with seven eyes, are two rows of hops which entangle a wolf and which have five 
eyes or buds.' Later (XII, 250) Dietrich believed 'that by the first lupus a perch 
(Epi)ial-Erftcrt Gloss. 592, bccrs), not a pike, was intended, and that the enigma 
was a play upon the name of Cynewulf, as, in Anglo-Saxon, names made from 7oulf 
(^yEtkehvulf, Widfstan') are commonly Latinized into Lupus.' In three places 
{Atif^lia VI, Aiiz. 166; XVII, 399; Bb.\, 51) Trautmann opposes Dietrich's 
solution, but suggests no adequate answer. In the first of his articles he hints 
at a connection between the four ' lupi ' of this riddle and the fourfold mention 
of 'cculf, Rid. I. Holthaus, Anglia VII, Aiiz. 122, finds in the enigma no proof of 
such wordplay or reference to the name Lupus ; but Hicketier, Aiiglia X, 582 f., 
stoutly supports Dietrich. He thinks, however, that the first lupus refers not to 
a fish (lambs are not fish-eaters) but to the hop-rows. 

Henry Morley, Eiiglish Writers II, 224-225, proposes 'the Lamb of God.' 
'The marvel of the Lamb that overcame the wolf and tore its bowels out is of 
the Lamb of God who overcame the devil and destroyed his power. The great 
glory then seen was of the lamb that had been slain, the Divine appointment of 
the agony of one of the three Persons of the Trinity. The four feet were the 
four Gospels ; and the seven eyes refer to the Book of Revelation, where the 
seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 
. . . The two wolves might be the Old and the New Testament troubling the 
devil and having the four Gospels upon which their teaching stands.' As I have 
shown (^/. L. A'. XVIII, 105), Morley's apocalyptic solution is strongly supported, 
at least in its first part, by the enigma of Aurelius Prudentius (Reusner I, 295): 

Christus .-^gnus 
Agnus vice mirifica 



Agnus hiare luiKini prohibes, 

and by the last line of the German prol)lem, Pfiilzer MS. 693, f. 27 (Mone, Anz. 
VII, 3Si,No. 312): 

Do quam ein kim und benam dem vvolfe d)' herte 



Solutio 

Der arge wolf, das ist Luciper . . 

Das lam, das waz der werde Got. 



We have ample evidence that the devil is identified with the wolf in early 
religious literature. Jordan declares {^Die alteiiglischoi Sdugetieriuj>?ieu, p. 64) : 



NOTES 231 

' Alltnahlich aber, wohl mit clem Eindringen christlicher Anschauung iiberwuegt der 
Eindruck des Unheimlichen, Abstossenden in der Auffassung des Wolfes; in der 
christlichen Prosa ist er der Typus der Grausamkeit und Hinterlist. Das Bild 
des Evangeliums [John x, 12] vom Wolf, der den Schafen nachstellt, kehrt in 
den Iloniilien haufig wieder; der Wolf wird ein Sinnbild des Teufels.' Cf. 
/Elfric, Homilies 1,36, 15, J>ast se ungesewenllca wulf Godes seep ne toscence ; 
I, 23S, 29, se wulf is deofol ; I, 242, 3, wulf biS eac se unrihtwTsa rica ; Laws of 
Canute I, 263, p. 306 (Wulfstan, Iloviilies 191, 16), l>onne moton l-a hyrdas been 
swySe wacore . . . )>a;t se w5dfreca werewulf to fela ne abite of godcundre heorde. 
Professor Cook in his note to Christ, 256, se dtvy7-gda wulf, cites Gregory, IIoiii. 
in Evang., lib. i, horn. 14 (Migne, P. L. LXXVI, 1 128) : ' Sed est alius lupus qui 
sine cessatione quotidie non corpora, sed mentes dilaniat, maligitus videlicet spiri- 
tus qui cautas fidelium insidians circuit et mortes animarum quaerit.' See also 
the Marien Iliminelfahrt {//aupts Zs., V, 520), 1. 190, 'do der vil ungehore helle- 
wolf.' When the devil wishes to tempt Dunstan he assumes the form of a wolf 
(Eadmer's Vita, § 11, Stubbs, Memorials of Dunstan, Rolls Ser., p. 183). 

As Ilolthausen has clearly shown {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 210-21 1 ; see text), 
rime demands in the second line ' obcurrit agnus [rupi] et capit viscera lupi.' 
Now if agnus be 'Christ,' and /////' 'the Devil,' there seems to be little douljt 
that rupi refers to the rock (Peter) upon which the Church is built (Matt, xvi, iS). 
Christ, through his Church, destroys the Devil. 

Morley's interpretation of go 4-5 seems overwrought (see Bradley, Acadetny, 
1888, I, 198); but I am unable to find a satisfactory explanation of these enig- 
matic lines. The phrase 'cum septem oculis ' certainly smacks of the Apocalypse. 

Recently the attempt has been made to interpret the Latin riddle as a very 

complicated logogriph and charade upon Cynewulf's name. In Her7-igs Archiv 

CXI, 1903, 59 ff., Edmund Erlemann discusses the problem at length. He says: 

' Ich lose auf ^"^"^^ „ . Lupus-wulf, c-S, ab ai^no-etvu, 4-6, tcnetur (gleichsam 

12345678 ^ -^ ^ , ,. . 

im Maule); darum mirutn ,videtur mihi . . . ohairrit agnus: dem die emzelnen 

Buchstaben verfolgenden Auge des Dichters scheinen die drei : e, 7<\ u = 4-6, dem 
Wolf, wulf = 5-8, entgegenzulaufen. Et capit viscera lupi: ahnlich wie vorher 
tenetur, und nimmt die Eingeweide, d. i. das Innerste des wulf, niimlich die beiden 
Buchstaben 7.:' und ;/. Das ankniipfende dtcm starem et mirarem zeigt deutlich, 
dass die Scharade weitergeht. . . .' 

This solution was suggested to Erlemann by Trautmann's interpretation of 
the runic passage in the fuliana, 703-71 1 (^Kyne^oulf, pp. 47 f.): cyti, ewu (sheep), 
If {licftrt, body); but he does not accept Trautmann's rendering of If and be- 
lieves that in the true equivalent of / and / will be found the ' duo lupi ' of the 
Latin enigma. To Eriemann's article (p. 63) is added Dr. Joseph Gotzen's solu- 
tion of the latter part of the riddle. ' Duo lupi = wu, nicht wie oben vermutet, = 
l/; tertium = I; quattuor pedes = cyne; septem oculi = cynewul, die sieben Buch- 
staben. Die Losung des zweiten Teiles lautet also : zwei dastehende (Buch- 
staben) von -wulf (w «), den dritten (/) hedrangend, hatten vier Fiisse {c y n e\ 
d. h. cyne ist " Fuss " — nach bekannter Ratselterminologie — zu 7uul) ; mit sieben 
Augen sahen sie (namlich alle in v. 4-5 ervvahnten Buchstaben). Die abnorme 
Siebenzahl ist gewahlt, um eine Spitzfindigkeit in das Rjitsel hineinzubringen ; 



232 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

der achte Buchstabe /" war ja schon durch n'lil/'m v. 1 festgelegt. Das quattnor 
pedes — cyne beriicksichtigt auch gut den ersten Bestandteil des Namens, der ja 
in V. 1-3 leer ausgegangen war.' 

Fritz Erlemann {Herrigs y/;r///r' CXV, 391) thus modifies the views of his 
namesake : ' Mit Edmund Erlemann und Gotzen fasse ich liipi als Genitiv und 
duo als Neutrum auf, und zwar letzteres mit hinweisender Bedeutung ; unter duo 
lupi sind also die zwei Buchstaben des Wortes eivu (vom dem zuletzt die Rede 
war) verstanden, die gleichzeitig auch zu 7£^//^" gehoren, = ivu. Der noch iibrig- 
bleibende dritte Buchstabe ist e. Es bleiben also wu stehen {statttes), verdrangen 
aber das e (tribulantes). So erhalten wir das aus sieben Buchstaben bestehende 
Wort Cyf^nlf {cum septem oculis videbanf). Unter quattuor pedes sind die vier 
letzten Buchstaben dieses Wortes also 7011// z\x verstehen.' The mantle of Profes- 
sor Victor is over the Erlemann solution (ib. p. 392) ; and Professor Brandl has 
recently accorded it full approval {Grjuidriss'^, II, 972). 

Far-fetched and unconvincing though all this seems, it must be frankly ad- 
mitted that such over-subtle playing with names was a common amusement of the 
mediaeval mind. A striking parallel to the Erlemann interpretation appears in the 
first riddle of the Leys d'Ainor (I, 312), which is thus explained by Toh\eic,Jhrb. 
fiir Rom. uitd Engl. Lit. VIII (1867), 354: ' Trefflich erscheint und schones 
Wuchses die i^Raimondd), so mit dem Kopfe (d. h. der Anfangssylbe, rai, sie 
scheert) die Ilaare abschneidet und mit ihrem Bauche (d.h. der Mittelsylbe, mon. 
Welt) triigt was nur Mann und Weib sieht, und mit ihren P'iissen (der Schluss- 
sylbe, da, sie gibt) oftmals gil)t oder schlagt zu Krieg, Frieden oder Zlichtigung 
oder um zu dienen. Doch wenn sie den Kopf verliert, werdet ihr sofort sie sauber 
und rein finden {rnottdu, reine). ... In einen Mann [Raimoii) werdet ihr sie 
verwandelt .sehn.' In his Enigmas Boniface plays upon 'Liofa' (' Caritas '), and 
in his Epistles he twists into complex runic acrostics the names of two women 
friends, ♦ Susanna ' and ' Brannlinde ' (Ewald, jVetie Archiv VII, 196 ; Hahn, Boni- 
faz 7ind Lul, 1883, p. 242 N. ; Jaffe, Bibliotlieca, 1866, III, 12, 244). As is well 
known, both Christine de Pisan and her contemporary Langland perpetrate 
clumsy charades upon their own names. So, while the Erlemann solution does 
not compel acceptance, it surely invites close attention. 

As the Latin riddle shows, particularly in its last two lines, such obvious indi- 
cations of medial rime, Holthausen has wisely emended the text {Engl. Stud. 
XXXVII, 210-21 1) by accepting Thorpe's inversion of videtur and ;;///// in the 
first line, by adding riipi to the incomplete first half of the second line, and by 
changing magnam at the close of the third line to tiie better /artv«. 



RIDDLE 01 

As Dietrich shows {XI, 453, 486), this is a riddle of the ' Key,' and resembles, 
in at least one of its traits (see Prehn, pp. 255-25S), the ' Clavis ' enigma of 
Symphosius, No. 4 : 

Virtutes magnas de viribus affero parvis. 

Pando domos clausas, iterum sed claudo patentes. 

Servo domuni domino, sed rursus servor ab ipso. 



NOTES 



233 



As Prehn has remarked (1. c), the riddler here has made no attempt to mislead 
solvers, hut has developed his subject so clearly and tiioroughly that at the end 
all doubt has vanished ; and one feels perfectly safe in rejecting Trautmann's in- 
appropriate answer ' Sickle ' {Bb. V, 50). Certain words and phrases have been 
misinterpreted by scholars {infra). I translate and explain as follows: ' My head 
is beaten with a hammer, wounded with cunning darts, polished with a file. Often 
I bile that which against me sticks (the lock), when I shall push, girded with rings, 
hard against hard, and, bored through from behind, shove forward that (i.e. the 
catch of the lock) which protects my lord's heart's joy (treasure, wealth) in mid- 
nights. Sometimes, with my beak, I backwards draw (unlock) the guardian of 
the treasure (again, the lock) when my lord wishes to receive (or take) the herit- 
age of those whom he caused to be slain by murderous power, through his will.' 

J\hL 91 has little in common with the obscene query of the Key, Kid. 45. 

Wright, Celt, Roman and Saxon, pp. 488-490, notes that among the objects 
found suspended at the girdle of an Anglo-Saxon lady were scissors, small knives, 
tweezers, the framework of a chatelaine, — and latch-keys, if the implements 
found by Rolfe in the cemetery at Osengal (Collectanea II, 234) were used for 
that purpose. Among the Anglo-Saxon grave-finds in the British Museum is an 
iron key, four inches long with two bits, found below Farndon Church, Newark, 
Notts. Weinhold remarks {Altnordisches Leheti, p. 235), ' Samtliche Kasten und 
Kastchen waren verschliessbar; die SchlUssel hatten die Gestalt der Dietriche ; 
aus jiingerer Zeit finden sich wirkliche SqhlUssel mit Bart und kunstreichem 
Griffe.' And in his Deutsche Frauen, II, 30, he notes, ' Als Verwalterin des 
Hauswesens, wofiir die Schlussel am Giirtel die Ausserzeichen waren, hatte die 
Frau eine grossere Freiheit in Geldsachen.' All this corresponds to the informa- 
tion furnished by a law of Canute (II, 76, § i, Schmid, p. 312) : 'and buton hit 
under J>3cs wifes cSglocan gebroht waere, sy heo cliene, ac bSra cSgean heo sceal 
weardian, Jiaet is hire hordern and hyre cyste and hire tege (scrinium).' B.-T. s. v. 
cceg-loca points to a similar provision in the old Scottish law {Qiton Attachi, xii, 
c. 7), and in the Statutes of William xix, c. 3. ' Store-room and chest and cup- 
board' were thus under lock and key. 

Heyne's discussion of the treasure-chamber of the Anglo-Saxons is to the point 
{Halle Ileorot, p. 30) : ' Insofern in den alten Zeiten das Schatzespenden die 
Gehiilter der Mann und Dienerschaft vertritt und daher die Macht eines Herrn 
wesentlich von seinem Reichtum an Gold, Schmuck, kostbaren Gewandern und 
andern Gegenstanden abhangt, ist der Raum, wo diese Schatze aufbewahrt werden, 
das Schatzhaus ("gazophylacium," nid&vi-lius\ " thesaurium,"^^^/-//();v/) einer der 
wichtigsten der Burg. Daher ist es wohl verwahrt und der SchlUssel {Kid. 91) 
kann sich riihmen dass er das W^erkzeug sei durch das seines Ilerren Ilerzens- 
freude in Mitternachten geschiitzt wird u.s.w.' 

Wright, History of Domestic Manners, p. 79, copies from MS. ITarl. 603 ihe 
manuscript of the Psalms, the illustration of 'a receiver pouring the money out 
of his bag into the cyst or chest, in which it is to be locked up and kept in his 
treasury.' ' It is hardly necessary,' he adds, ' to say that there were no banking- 
houses among the Anglo-Saxons. The chest or coffer, in which people kept their 
money and other valuables, appears to have formed part of the furniture of the 



234 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



chamber as being the most private apartment ; and it may be remarked that a 
rich man's wealth usually consisted much more in jewels and valuable plate than 
in money.' 

gi I homere gepruen (MS. geh'tren). Cf. Beo7v. 1286, hamore gej^ruen (MS. 
gejjuren). Heyne [Beowulf, 'Glossar' s. v.) derives ge/>uren irom gef>wore>i (<ge- 
I'weran, * to beat'); Sievers, G?-.^, 385, regards gehnlen, 'forged,' as an isolated 
past participle (see PBB. IX, 2S2, 294; X, 458). The meter is strongly in favor 
of Sievers's reading. 

91 2 searopila Avund. Shipley, The Geiiiiivc Case etc., does not include 7oinid 
among adjectives that take the genitive, as elsewhere in the poetry it is followed 
by the instrumental ; cf. 6 i, Iserne wund. 

91 3 B.-T., Siippletnent, p. 72, renders begiiie 'take with wide open mouth,' and 
Swaen, Engl. Stud. XL (1909), 323, 'open the gape and take into it, swallow.' 
Both authorities cite a similar use of begiiien in the Dialogues of Gregory (Hecht, 
Bibl. der ags. Prosa), 324, 24-26. Swaen reads in our line oiigeai!stica& as 
a compound. 

91 4 hriiiguin gyrded. Cf. 5 2, hringum hasfted. 

91 3 This line recalls the other Key riddle, 45. In 45 j'^, the Key is sfT/> oitd 
heard, and in 45 2^' forau . . . J^yrcl. 

91 6 forff iistTifan. Grein's rendering {Dic/it.) ' hinwegschieben ' completely 
inverts the meaning of the passage (91 2-7). The riddler is describing the locking 
of the treasury-door, later (gi S-n) contrasting with this the unlocking (see Sym- 
phosius 42). Dietrich translates rightly ' hervorschieben,' and Sievers, Aiiglia 
XIII, 4, ' vorschieben.' — frean mines. With the inversion of mines aud freau 

cf. 71 6, 73 *^- 

gi 7 inodf*. Dietrich and Grein both understood this rune as wen, the former 
rendering the clause (XI, 453) ' was die sorge meines herren in mitternachten 
beruhigt,' the latter (D/e/il.) ' was meines waltenden Herrn Gemiitshoffnung 
schiitzt in IMitternachten.' Afterwards (XI, 4S6) Dietrich suggests modzuylm 
rather than niodzoen. Sievers has shown conclusively [Ajiglia XIII, 3-4) that 
in Anglo-Saxon poetry (not only in Rid. gi 7, but in El. 1090, 1264; C/ir. 805; 
.-//. 100; Kuii. 8) W always demands the interpretation 7vyu, a rendering of the 
rune sustained by the Anglo-Saxon alphabet in the Salzburg MS. (Wimmer, 
Ruuensclirift, p. 85). Sievers further shows that in the present passage viodwyii 
is but a periphrase of ' treasure ' ; and points to Chr. 807 f., llfwynna dsel (feoh) ; 
Beow. 2270, hordwynne ; A)id. 11 13, nass him to ma'Sme wynn ; etc. 

gi S All editors, including Sievers {Anglia XIII, 4), read InvTluiii ic under bivc 
bregde nebbe ; but Holthausen, Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 21 1, assigns bregde to the first 
half-line, and prefixes brilnre or beorhtre or bldcre to nebbe. The emendation is 
absolutely unnecessary, hzoilum ic under btrc is a verse of the B-type (cf. 41 86, 
nis under me), the second stressed syllable, biec, carrying the alliteration. For 
B-type with alliteration in second foot, see Sievers {PBB. X, 289). 

918-9 Grein, Dicht., translates ' Ich schwinge bisweilen den Schnabel riickwarts, 
ein IlUter des Hortes.' And Heyne follows him {Halle Heorot, p. 30) : ' Ein Hiiter 
des Hortes, wenn er seinen Bart riickwarts dreht.' But bregde is transitive with 
hyrde as its object, and nebbe is the instrumental. See my translation {supra). 



NOTES 



235 



91 ,i hynlc ]7aes hordes. Cf. I>f07cK SS7, hordes hyrde. 'I'his heroic phrase is 
here very aptly appHed to the lock. 

91 10 lafe J7irj;an. Cf. Fates, 6i, welan ))icgan ; ib. 81, feoh hicgan ; El. 1259, 
maSmas I'ege. 

91 II ^vtcIc^aefte. CJrein, reading ivtrlcnr/t, misses the whole sense of the 
passage {Du/it.) : 'die er vom Leben hiess treiben nach seinem Willen todliche 
Kraft.' See my translation. 

RIDDLE 92 

This fragment is not printed by Thorpe and Grein, so it is not solved by 
Dietrich. Trautmann {Anglia, Bh. V, 50) suggests with confidence the answer 
'Beech.' My reasons for accepting this solution will appear in my notes to the 
various enigmatic phrases of the problem. 

While the ' Hainbuche' {Carpinits betnlns) does not appear among the Anglo- 
Saxons (Hoops, IVb. It. A'p., p. 257), still the beech ox fagiis is well known (contra 
Ilolthausen, Engl. Stmi. XXXVII, 211) : ' Und da die Buche in der angelsachsi- 
schen Periode wiederholt in Urkunden auftritt und, wenigstens in Siidengland, 
durchaus den Eindruck eines altheimischen Baumes macht, ist sie sicher auch zur 
Romerzeit vorhanden gewesen und nur Caesars Beobachtung entgangen. . . . 
Doch hat die Buche in England nie die Verbreitung und Bedeutung als Wald- 
baum erlangt wie in Deutschland und Danemark.' (Hoops, ib. p. 259.) 

92 I brunra refers to the swine that subsisted on the beech-mast. In I\!il. 
41 107, the dearg dwelling ' in the beech-wood " is called 7aon, a close synonym to 
l>n7n {Spr. I, 145; Mead, 'Color in O.E. Poetry,' P.M.L.A. XIV, 187, 194). 
Holthau.sen's change to briinna (Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 211) — ' the boast of wells 
or springs' — is therefore totally unwarranted. 

92 2 freolic feorhbora. This finds ample illustration in the gloss to De Crea- 
titra 49 (MS. Royal 12, C. XXIII, f. 103 v.) : ' Fagus et esculus arbores glandifere 
ideo vocate creduntur qua earum fructibus olim homines vixerunt cibumque 
sumpserunt et escam habuerunt.' I have already discussed (notes to 41 105, 106) 
the use of beech-woods as swine pastures. The oak is another life-giver and feeder 
of flesh (see note to Rid. 56 9). 

923 wyniistaj7oI, which Ilolthausen {Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 211) would 
change needlessly to -wyiin on sta/>ole, may refer to the joyous station of the 
beech-tree ; compare Run. 82, sX.\\> on stahule {us/i) ; Rini. 37, wyn on eHe {ye7c') ; 
Rid. 54 2, treow wass on wynne. But the word almost certainly indicates the 
book, which is called J>as strangan staJ>ol in the Bookmoth riddle (48 5-^). See 
also Sal. 239, gestaSeliaS staSolfasstne geJ>oht (books). — wnfes sond. In like 
manner the staff that bears the husband's message, //. I\[. i, 12, tells us that 
' it is sprung from the tree-race.' We are reminded of the phrase of Tacitus, 
Germania, chap. 10, 'notis virgae frugiferae arboris impressis,' and of the lines of 
Venantius Fortunatus in the sixth century {Carinina vii, iS, 19, cited by Sievers, 
Pauls Griindriss^ I, 24) : 

Barbara fraxineis pingatur runa tabellis, 
Quodque papyrus agit, virgiila plana valet. 



236 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

Though Sievers (I.e.). like many earlier scholars (B.-T., p. 113), calls into ques- 
tion the traditional etymology, every Anglo-Saxon found the origin of 'book' 
(boc) in the ' beech-tree ' {boc-ireo7v), for, as our riddle shows us, beech-bark was 
used by him for writing (see N.E.D. s. v. ' Book ; ' Kluge, Etyni. IFtb. s. v. 'Buch'). 
92 4 gold on gearduiri. Holthausen, Ajii^lia, Bb. IX, 358, would change gold 
to god, but the emendation is unwarranted, as gold may well refer to the adorn- 
ments of the Book ; see Rid. 27 13^, gierede mec mid golde (booh'). Cf. 21 8, gold 
ofer geardas {s-ioord). 

92 5 hyhtlic hiklewtSpen. That the beech, as well as the ash, is used for 
weapons, is shown by the bequest of a beechen shield in the Wills (Tliorpe, 
Diplovtatariiim Anglicztm, 561, 5, A.D. 938) : ' Ic ge-ann SiferJ'e mines bocscyldes.' 

RIDDLE 03 

As in the companion-piece, 7\id. 88, the subject is 'the Inkhorn, made from 
a Stag-horn' Dietrich (XI, 486-487). Though it does not appear in the diction- 
aries of B.-T. and Sweet, blicc-liorn glosses ' atramentarium ' in Oxford Glosses 
4, 245, T,T, {//origs Archiv CXIX, 185), and High and Low German cognates 
are noted by Dietrich, I.e. The riddle, like Kid. 88, vividly pictures the Horn's 
change of state from its glad free life on the head of the stag to its wretched lot 
as a swallower of black fluid after the shaping knives have done their cruel work. 

93 2 Avilhiiii sTiiiiiii. So 91 11''. 

93 5 f. The hunter, after describing the entangling of game in nets, tells us in 
/Elfric's Colloquy, 92, 14, mid swift urn huiiditiii ic bciicie wildi'or; and MS. Ilarl. 
603, f. 24, contains a striking picture of a stag pursued by two dogs. Sharon 
Turner, VII, chap, vii, translates from the Life of Dunstan (see Auctor B, 
Stubbs, Memorials, p. 24) an accoimt of a hunt of King Edmund: 'When they 
reached the woods, they took various directions among the woody avenues; and 
lo, from the varied noise of the horns and the barking of the dogs, many stags 
began to fly about. From these, the King with his pack of hounds selected one 
for his own hunting and pursued it long through devious ways with great agility 
on his horse, and with the dogs following. . . . The stag came in its flight to a 
precipice and dashed itself down the immense depth, with headlong ruin, all the 
dogs following and perishing with it.' 

93 6 dtcgriiiK' frod. Cf. 54 4, frud dagum ; 73 3, gearum frodne. 

937-12 Brooke's lively rendering [E.E. Lit., p. 142) may be changed to the 
proper third person : ' At whiles, my lord (the stag) climbed the steep hillsides 
mounting to his dwelling. Then again he went into the deep dales to seek his 
food — his strengthening [better, 'his safety'], strong in step. He dug through 
the stony pastures, when they were hard with frost, then (as he shook himself and 
tossed his head, the rime) the gray frost flew from his hair.' Brooke adds: 'Scott 
himself could hardly have said it better: 

lUit ere his fleet career ho took. 

The dewdrops from his flanks lie shook.' 

The Lithuanian riddle (Schleicher, p. 201) is an interesting parallel: 'Was triigt 
dfu Thau auf seinen Hornern ? I)er Ilirsch.' 



NOTES 



237 



93 7 stealc Iili]70. Cf. RiJ. 3 7, on stealc hleoha ; 4 26, stealc stanhleol'u. 

93 9 ill df'op (lain. Cf. Clir. 1531, on |>at deope dajl ; Geii. 305, on |>a deopan 
dalo ; Gen. 42 1 , on |'as deopan dalo. — <liif;u}70. Grein, Dicht., renders ' Stark ung,' 
and Brooke {supra ) 'food — strengthening.' But the context points to the mean 
ing 'salus ' or ' .safety ' {^Spr. I, 21 1-2 12). The thought is parallel to the well-known 
description of the chase of a stag, Bccnu. 1369 f. : 

))eah |>e hSNstapa hiindum geswenced, 
heorot hornum truni holtwudu sece, 
feorran geHymed, etc. 

93 10 strong on sta?pe. Cf. 28 13 strong on spriece. The half-line is of the 
shortened A-type {_L X | ^j/ X ), not uncommon in the Riddles (see Herzfeld, p. 49). 

93 11-12 hara . . . forst. Only once elsewhere in the poetry is hdr similarly ap- 
plied: And. 1257-1258, hrimond forst | hare hildestapan(cf. Krapp's excellent note). 

93 12 on fusuni. MS. and Edd. read here of, which seems to me inapt and point- 
less ; cf. Grein [Dic/it.), ' Ich ritt von dem Beeilten (.''),' and Thorpe, B.-T., p. 349, 
' I rode from the ready [men].' On the other hand, Ic on fit sum rdd, ' I rode on 
the quick one,' exactly accords with the preceding description of the stag in flight. 

93 '3-14 The appearance of this motive in Rid. 88 18-20 has been already noted. 

93 15-1S See the fate of the Horn, 88 32-33. The knife inflicts equal pain upon 
the Book, 27 5-6, and the Reed, 61 12-13. 

93 15-16 isorn . . . brun. The adjective is often applied to weapons ; cf. 
Rid. 188, brunum beadowSpnum. Brun is the epithet of ecg, Beoiv. 2578-2579; 
and hriitiecg of seax, Becnu. 1547, of bill, Maid. 163. 

93 i6''-i7 Cosijn, PBB. XXI, 16, compares with this passage And. 1 240-1241, 
Idod J'J>um weoll \ hdtan heolfre, which he amends to Jidt of Jirehre. But Krapp 
in his note (p. 139) has shown that the passages are not parallel and that the 
emendation is unwarranted. 

93 19-20 The Horn's inability to wreak vengeance upon its enemies recalls the 
similar helplessness of the Sword, 21 17-18, and of the Ore, 83 8''. — wrecan . . . 
on ^vigan IT'ore. Cf. 21 iS, wrSce on bonan fcore. 

93 21-22 eallo . . . ]7a'tte bord bitoii. The phrase puzzles Grein, who renders, 
Dicht., 'die Elendgeschicke welche Brette bissen (?) ' The Shield (bord) says in 
Rid. 6 8-9, mec . . . hondweorc smiha | bItaS in burgum. So in our passage, ' all 
who bit the shield ' is simply a periphrase for ' the handiwork of smiths ' or all 
cutting or wounding weapons — see isern, style (11. 15, 18). Similar enigmatic cir- 
cumlocutions appear, 81 7, 93 27. 

93 22''-23 Compare the drink of the pen in the riddle of the Book, 27 g'^-io'', 
beamtelge S7vealg \ streames dicles, and mark the mediaeval receipt for ink-making 
cited in my note to that passage. The riddler indulges himself in a sly word-play 
upon the two meanings oi blace {blicce),\.he instr. form, ' black ' or' ink ' — thus laugh- 
ing in the face of the solver : ' Now I swallow black ' (or ' ink '), etc. Compare the 
double-meaning of blicd, 38 7, and of larfte, 73 22. Grein {Dicht) completely mi.sses 
the point in his rendering, ' Blinkend schlinge ich Waldholz nun und Wasser.' 
Eorpl^els ndtlnvat (93 25) is another reference to the ink, which is poured into the 
belly of the Horn. 



238 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

93 26-27 Dietrich (XI, 487) would read /iordwariJ&, and finds here a reference 
to the other Horn of Rid. 88. He believes that the wjil/es gehlej>an is the dog 
which it tossed (zvlde bcrr) when the stag was at bay. But this explanation is far- 
fetched and will not serve. We have to do with an Inkhorn riddle. The plunder- 
ing enemy {/nj>ende feond) who guards my treasure [iinii hard wara&\ cf. Rid. 
32 21, 83 4) is the pen or quill, which emerges from the belly of the Inkhorn (1. 28). 
Line 27, se f>e ier lolde bar ivnlfes geJilI'liaii, finds its explanation in the gloss to 
Aldhelm's ' Alphabet ' enigma, iv, i 5, in MS. Royal 12, C. XXIII (Wright, Satirical 
Poets etc. II, 549) : ' Ignoramus utrum c\vm. peiina corviiia vel anserina sive calamo 
perscriptae simus.' The pen of our riddle is \.\\& penna corviiia, the common crow- 
quill ; and the raven, which ' it once bore widely,' is properly called ' the companion 
of the wolf,' as these creatures of prey are always associated in Anglo-Saxon 
poetical thought (ci. Bemv. 3025-3028; Exod. 162-168; Jjui. 205-207; El. iiof.; 
Brim. 61-65 ; Brooke, E. E.Lit., pp. 129-132). In the Old Norse, Eagrskin>ia § 5 
(Munch and Unger, 1847, p. 4), the raven is called arnar ei&bro&ir, ' oath-brother 
to the eagle.' With this periphrasis for the pen compare the others in the Riddles: 
27 7, fugles wyn ; 52 4, fultum fromra (MS. fuglum frumra). 

93 2S The editors have overlooked the oft me of MS. and B. M. Be-cmden does 
not mean ' ausgehohlt ' (Dietrich XI, 487 ; Spr. I, 97), nor ' deprived ' (Sweet, Dic- 
tionary, S.V.), but 'emerged.' ' Often emerging from my belly he (the quill) fares, 
etc.,' aptly accords with 93 22-23, where the Inkhorn refers to the ink contained 
in its belly. With oft me of ivoDibe cf. 18 6, //// me of hrife ; 77 6, me of stdan. 

93 2>)'' So of the Pen in 27 ni'', stop eft on mec {parc/n/ieiit). 

93 30 daegcondel. See Krapp's Andreas, p. loi (note to line 372, wedercandeP). 

9332 eaguin ^vllte(T. So Ps. 656; cf. Jl7iale, 12, eagum wliten ; Gen. rc6, 
eagum wlat ; 1794, eagum vvlltan. 

RIDDLE 94 

The few surviving phrases of this badly damaged fragment exhibit a striking 
likeness to the comparatives of the 'Creation' riddles, 41 and 67: 942, hyrre 
)>onne heofon (cf. 67 6, heofonas oferstlge) ; 94 3, [hra;]dre honne sunne (cf. 67 3, 
swiftre honne sunne) ; 947, leohtre I'onne w (cf. 41 76). Possibly this was another 
handling of that theme of universal interest. 

RIDDLE 95 

Rid. 95 has long been the theme of minute yet fruitless discussion — I quote 
largely from my article in M. L. A'. XXI, 104. Dietrich's solution, 'Wandering 
Singer' (XI, 4S7), which has been accepted by Prehn, p. 262, and Brooke, E. E. 
Lit., p. 8, defended by Nuck {Anglia X, 393-394) and Hicketier (ib. 584-592), is 
rightly rejected by Trautmann {BB. XIX, 208) on many grounds. Yet his own 
answer, ' Riddle,' thrice championed by him {Anglia VI, Anz. 168 ; VII, Anz. 2iof. ; 
BB. XIX, 209) and attacked at length in the articles of Nuck and Hicketier, 
seems to me even more unfortunate than that of Dietrich. His inteipretation 
everywhere refutes itself by its academic viewpoint and its consequent failure to 



NOTES 239 

grasp the naive psychology of riddling (contrast with this rendering the riddles 
on the ' Riddle ' cited by Pitre, pp. xix-xxi), by perverted meanings and violent 
forcings of text {infra). I believe the answer to be 'Moon' {M.L.N'., I.e.), and 
I find three motives common to Rid. 95 and 30, ' Moon and Sun.' These are the 
fame of the subject among earth-dwellers, its capture of booty in its proud hour, and 
its later disappearance from the sight of men. I repeat here my translation and 
analysis of the problem : ' I am a noble being, known to earls, and rest often with 
the high and low. Famed among the folk (so of the Sun, 30 8, seo is eallum cuS 
eorSbuendum), I fare widely (Thorpe's reading of 3 b, fere). And to me, (who 
was) formerly remote from friends (so the Moon refers to his periods of lonely 
darkness), remains booty (see notes), if I shall have glory in the burgs (compare 
305, the Moon "would build himself a bower in the burg") and a bright god 
(Trautmann, " course "). Now wise (learned) men love very greatly my presence 
(notes). I shall to many reveal wisdom (notes) ; nor do they speak any word on 
earth (the Moon's teachings, unlike those of an earthly master, are conveyed and 
received in silence). Though the children of men, earth-dwellers, eagerly seek 
after my trail, I sometimes (that is, when my light wanes) conceal my track from 
each one of men ' (notes). 

95 1-3^ Compare not only the description of the Sun, 30 8, cited above, but that 
of the Moon, 40 1-3, s-*^- 

95 I indryhten is aptly used of the Moon or of the Soul, 44 i, but certainly 
not of a Riddle, as Trautmann would have us think. 

95 2 ricum oncl hcanum. Cf. Rid. 33 13, rice ond heane ; Jnd. 234, ne heane 
ne rice ; Gti. 968, ne ricra ne heanra. 

95 3 folcum gefraege. So Beow. 55, Meti. 54. In each of these passages the 
phrase means ' famous among the folk,' nowhere ' ein gegenstand des fragens ' 
(Trautmann). — fere wide. Cf. 4 71, wide fere : 59 2, wide ne fere'5. The Moon 
tells us, Bern MS. 611, 593, Anth. Lat. I, 369, ' Quotidie currens vias perambulo 
multas.' See also the joumeyings of the Moon, 40 16-17. 

95 4 Here I read with Brooke {E. E. Lit., p. Z) fremdum instead of MS./remdt's 
(the text is corrupt) ; but I interpret the passage very differently. From its posi- 
tion at the end of the first half-line iSr can hardly be a preposition governing 
frl'ondtan, but is rather an adverb modifying fremdum (compare 45 7^, efenlang 
ar), which qualifies 7ne and is followed by the usual dative construction {Sp?-. I, 
338). For stondeh in the sense of ' remains,' cf. IVond. 57, swa him wTdeferh wuldor 
stonde'S. This interpretation of the line is certainly better than to change cer to 
/(?;-, to regard frcotidiiin as dat. sg. pres. part of freogait, freon, and to render 
stonde& as 'droht ' (Trautmann). 

95 i"" hlj^endra hyht, ' the delight of plunderers,' which has given much 
trouble to Trautmann and Hicketier (I.e.), is but a circumlocution for huk, 
'booty' (302'', 4''), as 27 t^ fugles wyn is a periphrase oi feher, 'quill,' or as 65 3" 
hccbbeiides liylit is equivalent to ' the thing possessed.' ' Booty,' as in Rid. 30, refers 
to the light captured from the Sun, ' the bright air-vessel ' of the earlier riddle 
(30 3"). NAlxxc tells us, ' se mona ond ealle steorran underfo'S leoht of hiere miclan 
sunnan ; ond heora nan nncf S nEnne leoman buton of I^Sre sunnan Icoman ' {De 
Temporibiis, Leechdoms, III 236). 



240 RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 

956 bla'd is used in the present sense of 'glory of light' in CIn-. 1 238-1239, 
hy . . . It'ohte blica)', | blSde end byrhte, ofer burga gesetu, and in Clir. 1291, 
Geseo'5 hi ha betran blcede sclnan. — in burgiini. Cf. 30 5^ (Moon), on hSre byrig 
(note). It is noteworthy that in Chr. 530, /;/ hiirguin refers to Heaven, which 
may be the meaning here. But compare Met. 5 1-3 : 

Du meaht be J'iPre siinnan sweotole geKencean 
ond be a-ghwelcuni 6'Srum steorran, 
))ara l>e aefter burgum beorhtost seine 5. 

If MS. beorhtjie god demands emendation, we may gratefully accept Traut- 
mann's gong, as no word could better suit the Moon's path in heaven. But it is 
not necessary to depart from the manuscript reading, as classical and Germanic 
belief assigns a god to the Moon (Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, pp. 705, 1501), and 
our poet may be recording old tradition. An Anglo-Saxon manuscript of the 
treatise of Aratus (MS. Tib. B. V) contains the figures of Sol in a quadriga and 
of Luna in a biga (Westwood, Facsimiles, p. 109, pi. 48). Various details are 
modified to suit the taste of the Anglo-Saxons. In a picture of the crucifixion 
(Publ. Libr. Camb. No. F. f. i. 23; Westwood, p. 120) 'Sol' and 'Luna' are 
seen weeping above the arms of the cross; and similar designs are found in MS. 
Titus D. 27 (Westwood, p. 124). In the Utrecht Psalter (Westwood, p. 20), the 
Sun of the first psalm is personified as a male half-length figure holding a flam- 
ing torch. But our tiddler's thought here may be wholly Christian ; cf. Beoiv. 570, 
beorht beacen godes {sun). The riddle, like its mate (see notes to 30), is at times 
reminiscent of Ps. xix. 

95 7'^ snottre. The word is used by Byrhtferth of scholars of this sort of lore 
(Anglia VIII, 330, 1. t,o)- Another Handboc passage (ib. 308, 19-24) shows the 
love of English ' wise men ' for the Moon and his ' wisdom ' : ' Uton jerest gleaw- 
llce swyiSe witan hwaet he [se m5na] sy to so'iie ond hwanon he c5me ond hwaet 
he do on )'am gerime o'SJSe hwy he sy swa gehaten, o^"^'e hwa hine gemette, oSSe 
hine hacs wur'Sscipes cu'Se J^aet he sceolde gestandan on J'am rimcra;fte. Ic wat 
gere J^set he ys heodscipes wyr'Se.' 

95 g'"* wisdom «'yj>an. The Moon is the source and center of Anglo-Saxon 
' wisdom ' or scientific knowledge (ivtsdotn is used of the sciences, Boethiits 7, 3). 
Its orbit and ' leap,' its cycles, its epacts, its relations to the weather, its effect 
upon the tides, are the leading themes of /Elfric's De Temporihiis [Leec/idoms III, 
248,264-268,282). The Moon is invaluable in prognostications (ib. 150-162, 177- 
197), and sets, of course, the time of Easter {Handboc, pp. 322-330). — no ]7aer 
word spreca'd'. With this compare the account of the Moon, 40 12'', ne wi)» 
monnum sprasc. 

95 10 fcenig ofer eortJan. So 41 21, Gu. 727. — R'lda beam. So 84 31. 

95 io'-i3 The same motive, somewhat similarly phrased, appears at the close 
of the ' Ore ' riddle, 83 12-14. The thought is exactly parallel to 30 13-14 (' Moon ') 
and to Bern MS. 61 1, 59 1-2, ' Luna ' {Anth. Lat. I, 369) : 

Quo movear gressu nullus cognoscere tentat, 
Cernere nee vultus per diem signa valebit. 



GLOSSARY 



The vowel «• is treated as equivalent in rank to a ; S' follows i ; the order otherwise is 
alphabetic. Arabic numerals indicate the classes of the ablaut verbs according to Sievers's 
classification ; Wi, etc., the classes of the weak verbs ; R the reduplicating, PP the preteritive- 
present verbs. When the designations of mood and tense are omitted, ' ind. pres.' is to be 
understood ; when of mood only, supply ' ind.' if no other has immediately preceded, other- 
wise the latter. When a reference or group of references is given without grammatical indi- 
cation, the description of the preceding form is to be understood. The Old English form 
is omitted, when it corresponds to the caption. Forms from the ' First Riddle,' and all edi- 
torial additions to the text, are given in brackets. 



A = rttne F^ : 20^'^, 25^, 6^^'^. 

a, aa, adv., eTgr, always : a 85® ; aa 35®. 

aba'dan, Wl, ward off, restrain : 3 sg. 

abSd (=rabSdeS) 56'^. 
abcl^an, 3, irritate, make angry: i sg. 

abelge 21^2. 
abeodan, 2, utter, anttotitice : inf. 61^*'. 
abidaii, l, await, expect, abide: inf. 6^. 
abrecan, 5, break down, take {fortress) : 

pret. opt. 3 sg. abrjece 56'. 
abregan, Wl, frighten, terrify : inf. 

41'-. 
ac, conj., but: 4', G^-^^ 16I", 21-^, 23^, 

37I0, 3S6, 408.13.16,21^ ^ J 99,101^ 616^ ^f'^-, 

8812.24, 9321. 
ac, m. I. oak: ns. 56^. — 2. name of 

rune A : np. acas 43^". 
acennan, Wl, bring forth, bear (child) : 

pp. acenned ^i**, 51I, 84^. 
adela, m., filth : is. adelan 4i^''_ 
adio, f., disease : ns. 44*. 
adrlfaii, l, drive away : pret. 3 sg. adraf 

aefensfoop, m., e7'ening bard: ns. 9^. 
aefre, adv. i. ever, at any time: 40I'', 

^,0.05,07, rn'*. — 2. always: 84^. 
aftanweard, adj. ,/>'(';// behind, i/i otie's 

rear : asm. aeftanweardne 63''. 



aefter, prep. w. dat. i . after : 1 31^, 

281^ 29", 80I0. — 2. along :t,^^ ; a;fter 

\iow\um, frofn hatid to hatid 31^. — 

3. according to : 40!^ 73^". 
a;fter, adv., afterward, then : 2121, 402^, 

606, 88i«. 
aiftera, adj., second: nsm. wk. asftera 

54I2. 
tefterweard, adj., following, behind: 

nsm. 1 61*. 
agan, PP, have, possess : opt. 3 pi. agen 

42*; inf. 44^. ^V^ nagaii. 
agen, adj., own: nsn. [agen] 8821; asn. 

106, 45S 553. 
agetsm, Wl, destroy: pret. 3 sg. agette 

_83^. 

ffgh^va, pron., every one : nsm. 66^. 

ieghAVHT, adv. i. ei'erywhere : 41 13. 

18.30,37 .50.8-2. _ 2. anywhere: 41"". 
a'gh\va;<Jcr, pron., each : gsm. Sg- 

hwaeSres 47^. 
leghwyk', pron., each (one), every (one) : 

nsn. 4o25; gsm. Sghwylces 37I'' ; asm. 

ccghwylcne 40^. 
agifaii, 5, give, bestow : i sg. agyfe 80'''. 
aglac, n., misery, torment : ds. aglace 

4^; as. 8i«. 
aglan-a, m., 7oretch : ns. 93^^. 
aglaohad, m., state of wretchedness : 

ds. aglachade 54^. 



241 



242 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



agnian, W2, ^possess : pret. 3 sg. agnade 

93"- 
agof (boga), how 1:241. 
iegO'er {= teghwfeSer), pron., euc/i : 

as. Sgl'er 40^'. See awO'er. 
ahebban, G, raise, lift up : 3 pi. ahebbaS 

8'^; pret. 3 sg. ahof 11^. 
ahreddan, Wl, snatch away: pret. 3 

sg. ahredde 30^. 
JSht, f., property-, possession: ns. 71^, 

79I ; dp. Shtum SS-*". 
ieldi', mpl.. men : gp. £lda 8431' 95!" ; 

dp. Sldiim 66, 34II, S16. 
aleodaii, 2, grow : pp. aloden 84^°. 
am, m., 7oeaver''s rod, slay-rod (Dietr. 

pecten textorins) : ns. (MS. amas) 36^ 

{Leid. aam). 
ainfiestan, \^\, fatten : pp. nsn. amcested 

4 1 105. 

ail, prep., /;/ : 43I''. 

an, num. i. one, certain one: nsm. 
16^ 43I"; nsf. 536, 84I, [an] lo^s ; 
nsn. 22!'^; gsf. an re 44^^ ; dsm. anum 
ii*> 33®; asm. anne 50^, 561^ 86", 
93^6, Snne 8i3; asf. ana 57I, 74^, 76^; 
asn. 86"; isf. anre 84-^^; gp. anra 14^, 
37!". — 2. alone: nsm. 841*^, wk. ana 
37^, 4i-i'^'^; dsm. anum 26-'; dpm. 
anum 61 1^. See anforla-tan. 

iinad, n., solitnde: ds. anSde 61''. 

and, see ond. 

aJifete, adj., onefooted: asf. 59I. 

aiifoii, R, receive: pret. 3sg. anfeng43'". 

auforltCtan, '^, forsake, abandon : pret. 
3 sg. anforlet 72'-'. 

anga, adj., sole, only: nsm. 8S-I. 

iiiiliaga, m., solitary, recluse : ns. 61. 

^nig, adj. pron., any: nsm. 4r'^i, 61^; 
nsf. 41*'''; gsm. jenlges 60I'' ; dsm. ieni- 



gum 24I 



aengum 14°, 72I''; asn. 



40-", 95!'^ ; ^ ienig 841^. See njvnig. 
a'nlic, adj., inconiparalde : nsm. 74-. 
asnlicp, adv., incomparably: [Snllce] 

41^^^. 
anstellaii, Wl, cause, establish : i sg. 

anstelle 4^^. • 



anwalda, m., ruler (the Lord) : ns. 41*. 

St, adv., before, formerly, once : 2I'-, 3!^, 
f, 12IO, 14W, 24^ 2812, 299, 45T, 50II, 
559, 618, 662, 734,26^ 8418^ 8828, 932V, 

_95*- 

ter, conj., before: 3I1, 6", 56". 

arieran, Wl, raise, establish : i sg. arjere 
83^ ; pp. arEred 38'^. 

w:vexvf\{iixx\.^^^,bear tidings: inf. [jer] en- 
dean 49I. 

fereiidsprtec, £., message : as. Srend- 
sprffice 6ii^ 

jerest, adv., first: Srist 36^ (Leid. 
serest), 41'', 83^. 

aretan, \Vl, make glad : i sg. arete 7". 

a;rigfjeru, see earhfaru. 

arisaii, l, arise: 3 sg. arlse'5 4'^''. 

arliOQ, adv., honorably, kindly, gently: 
\d\ 44-4. 

airor, adv., before, formerly : Sr[()r] 24^. 

ierra, comp. Tid]., first: nsm. 54I2. 

arsta'f, m. (only in pi.), kindness, bene- 
fit : ip. arstafum 272*. 

arypan, \Vl, tear off: 3 sg. arype'S 77'^. 

a?sc, m. 1. ash-spear : ip. asscum 23I1. 
— 2. name of rune JE : 43^. 

ascufaii, 2, sho-i'e fortvard : inf. 91''. 

asocgan, Wn, declare, proclaim : inf. z"_ 

asettan, Wl. i. place: inf. 30". — 
2. with srrf, to make a Journey: inf. 
10". 

astigaii, 1, arise: I sg. astige 2"; 3 sg. 
astlge.N 4-4". 

asAvapan, R, sweep a-way: 1 sg. aswape 

24^ 

set, prep. w. dat. i. at, in {time, place, 
and circumstance) : 41-*, 22*, 32I2.15, 
353, 36^ (not in Leid.), 4ie'"^ 43I'"'. 
44G, 55", 6i2, 78^, 88«+. — 2. from (at 
the hands of) : 2 1 1^. 

iet, m., food : gs. setes 41 •''5. 

ateon, 2, draw out, take out : pret. 3 sg. 
ateah 622. 

a'tgjedere, adv.,/(?4'6*///dV-: astgasdre 54II, 
5611. See togjedre. 

atiiiibran, Wl, build, rear: inf. 30'''. 



GLOSSARY 



243 



atol, adj., '''"V, .^'/v'.f/r, »t<i/it^ua)it : iism. 

4-'' ; nsn. 23". 
a't roil, adj., /('/>(W(>/^j- : nsni. 24'*. 
:i-(s<>iiin(>, adv., together: 23^, 43", 85''. 
ilttor, w., poison : as. 24^. 
jittorsperc, !!.,/(>/>('««,■(/ j-/tv/;-: ip. attor- 

s]>fiiim iS^. 
iltylitiui, Wi, froiiiice : pp. atyhted 

5 1 •'. 
[a<>ccf;aii, \\'\, gir'e food to ?, oppress ?: 

inf. al>ecgan i'-".] 
a'«>Vlo, adj., )ioble: nsf. a.-l>elu So^ ; sup. 

gsn. wk. a?)'el[est]an 60^. 
aeO'eliug, m., prince, noble, atlieling: gs. 

asl'dinges 79^, So^ ; iii). a.'J'elingas 50*^; 

gp. a-helinga 47". 
ie'd'elii, f. I. origin, ancestry: ip. a;he- 

liim 44^. — 2. nature: ap. jc^elu 56*. 
ji'rtringan, 3, /'//;-j/ forth, rush : i sg. 

al'iinge 4I-. 
iiAriiitaii, ;), swell : pp. ajirunten 3S-. 
a^veaxall, 6, ^r^^tc up : pret. i sg. awox 

I r'', aweox 73I ; pret. opt. j sg. 

aweox[e] 10^''. 
aweccan, Wi, awake, arouse: pp. np. 

aweahte 14**. 
awefan, :>, 'weaTe : pret. 3 pi. awaifan 

36' {Lei (I. auefun). 
awoorpan, 3, cast aside: ? aweorp ? 

84'*; pp. aworpen 41'*^. 
a^veriaIl, a^vo^Kan, Wi, gird, bind: 

opt. 3 sg. awerge 41^". 
a^vro<•an, 5, drive atiHiy: inf. 91 1^. 
awWr { = ahAvaeiJer), pron., cither : ns. 

aw)>er SS^^ 
"■^vyrgcd, pp. accursed: 21I". 

B 

IJ = rune 5 : over 18, 65^. 

biec, n. I. back: ns. 8S-^ ; ds. ba;ce 
4*5, 16'^. — 2. Vii\(\.vv\>:vv, backwards: 
23!", 9I^ 

ba'l, n.,/ire,JIame: gs. baeles 83-. 

ban, n., bone: ds. bane 69"; as. 40^'. 

banir-as, adj., boneless : asn. wk. ban- 
lease 46^. 



biiT, adj., /^<7;-t', naked: nsf. .' 32-"-; 

asn. 66*. 
bfernan, Wl, burn, consume: i sg. 

bffirne 2", 7^. .SVv byriiaii. 
ba"0, see seolhba'O. 
baSiaii, \\-i, bathe: pret. 3 pi. ba|>edan 

28'''. 

be, prep. vv. dat. i. by, beside, along 

{local): 222, 2316,611, 7o5, 84^, 8828.33. 

— 2. by {temporal): 2%^"^. See \i\. 
beadu, f., Jight, buttle : gs. beadvve 

88«. 
[beaducaf, adj., battlcprompt, warlike: 

nsm. wk. beaducafa i^]. 
beadii\va'p(»ii, n., war-iveapon : ap. 

beadowffipen i63; ip. beaduvvSpnum 

188. 
beadu\veorc,n.,/'<?'///t'-w(';-/{-: gp. beado- 

weorca 6'-, 34". 
beag, m., ring, collar: gs. bcages 60II; 

as. 72I2, (MS. bSg) 5'*; ip. beagum 

32—. 
bPaghrodcn, adj., rini^'--adorned : nsf. 

bcaldlioo, adv., boldly: 4ii*">, 61IG. 
bealo, see feorhbealo. 

bCain, m. i. tree: ns. 92I ; gs. beames 

56^; as. 54I; ap.beamas 2^. — 2. beam, 

yoke: ds. beame 72I'-. — 3. timber : gs. 

beames 11'^. &^ ■\viidiib("am. 
bf'aintelg, m., tree-dye {ink) : is. beam- 

telge 27''. 
bears, m., harrowpig: ns. 4ii''6. 
beariii, m., breast, bosom : ns. 67* ; ds. 

bearme 44I2 . ^^ ^:i 
bearn, n., child: ns. 21I'*, 84II ; as. lo^; 

np. 27I8, 4i96, 424", 8431, 95IO; gp. 

bearna 58''; dp. bearnum 16^, 40I8. 

See frum-, ^vorii Id bearn. 
bearngestreon, \\.,begetting of children : 

gp. bearngestreona 21'-'^. 
bearonaes, m., wood-ness, -woody protn- 

ontory : ap. bearonaessas 58^ 
beam, m., grove, wood: ns. 31*; ds. 

bearwe 54I, 80^, (MS. bearme) 22"; 

dp. bearwum 28'-; ap. bearwas 2^. 



244 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



beatan, R, beat: 3 pi. beata'5 -f, 81*. 
becnan, Wl, indicate, signify: 3 sg. 

becnej' 40-'' ; 3 pi. becnal> 25!". 
bed, bedd, n., bed: d.s. bedde id^; as. 

bed 5^. See grundbedd. 
bedrlfan, l, drive: pret. 3 sg. bedraf 

(MS. bedrSf) 309. 
befte'ffmaii, Wl, infold, contain: i sg. 

befxNme 93-^ 
be<j«*"» adj., both: npm. 44'^, SS'-'"^ ; 

npn. buta {from begen twegen) 55"; 

gp. bega 43^ 53^; dpm. bam 44"; 

b5m 65*^. 
begiuan, l , gape at, swallow : i sg. be- 
gin e 91'^. 
begriiidan, 3, polish, grind off: pp. 

begtunden 27^. 
bchealdan, R. i. hold, possess: pret. 

I sg. beheold 73*. — 2. behold, see: 

pret. opt. 3 sg. beheolde 61^. See 

bih^aldan. 
belilySan, Wl, despoil, strip: pp. be- 

hlyhed 15I0. 
belacan, R, embrace: pret. 3 sg. beleolc 

61". 
bcl<•eds^v^'0^a, adj., swollen-necked \ 

nsm. Si'. 
beleosan, 2, /('.ft' : pret. i sg. beleas 27*. 
belgan, see gebelgan. 
bellan, 3, grunt: ptc. nsm. bellende 

4 1 W6. 

bcinuVaii, I, conceal: i sg. bemil'e 95'''. 
bciiiiirnan, 3, bewail: pret. 1 sg. be- 

mearn 93'*. 
ben, f., prayer : ds. (abs.) bene 6o''''. 
bene, see ineodubeiic. 
bend, mfn. bond: dp. bendum 54*^; ap. 

bende 4'^, jr"^; ip. bendum 53'^". -SV;; 

orffoncbend. 
benn, f., 'wound: np. benne 60'-. 
bennian, W2, woitnd: inf. bennegean 

57-; pret. 3 sg. bennade 93'^. See 

gebenuian. 
bf'obrf'ad, n., bee-bread: as. 41'^''. 
bcolian, Wa, tremble, shake: 3 pi. beo- 

tia5 4«. 



beoii, see ^vesan. 

beor<'an,3, bark: i sg. beorce 25-. See 

borfian. 
beorg, m., mountain, hill: as. ifii^. 
beorghliS, n., mountain-slope: ap. beorg- 

hleoha 5S-. See burghli'ff. 
beorht, adj., bright: nsm. 21^; nsf. 

41-^; asm. beorhtne 15'', 95*'; npf. 

beorhte 12I; comp. nsf. beorhtre 20*. 

Sec hf'afodbeorht. 
beorhte, adv., brightly: 35''. 
beorn, m., 7nan, hero, warrior: ds. 

beorne (MS. beorn) 13^; as. BE[orn] 

65^; gp. beorna 6ii^; ap. beornas 

33I5. 

beot, n., boast: ns. 92'. 

beran, 4, bear, carry: i sg. bere 2^^, 132, 

i63; 3 sg. bireS [ii^], byreJS 420, 8«, 

155, 58I, 92'; 3 pi. beraJS iG'''; pret. 

3 sg. ba;r 1 1^, 932"; inf. 56'-', 571^ 652; 

pp. boren 64'-. Sec o'flberan. 
berend, see feorh-, gSst-, segn- 

berend. 
berstan, 3. i. intr. burst, crash : 3 sg. 

bierste^' 4*'2. — 2. trans, burst, break: 

3 sg. berste'S 5^. See to berstan. 
beseinan, 1, shine upon : 3 sg. bescTne'S 

73-20. 

bescyrian, Wl, deprive of: pret. 3 sg. 

bescyrede ^\^^'^. 
besinean, 3, sink, sub/nerge : pp. be- 

suncen 1 1-*. 
besnyOOan, Wi, deprive of: pret. 3 sg. 

besnyl'ede 27^. 
bestelan, 4, deprive: pp. npm. l:>estolene 

12''. See bistelan. 
bestreSan, Wl, heap up: \>\>. l)estrel'ed 

S4^^'. 
betan, W^l, make better, impro-'c: i sg. 

liCte (MS. betan) 7'" ; ? bete 71^ 92^. 
betera, adj., better : nsf. belre \\-^. See 

god, selra. 
betynan, Wl, close, shut: pp. betyned 

41II. 
beVTenean, Wl, ijitr/ist: opt. j pi. be- 

)>encan (MS. behuncan) 49". 



GLOSSARY 



245 



Ix'AVniian, Wi, (stretch cn'er), cover: 

pret. 3 sg. bel'enede 27^2. 
be\va<lan, G, come forth, eitierge : pp. 

bewaden 93-®. 
bc^VcT'faii, Wl, clothe: pp. bewSfed 71^. 
beweorpaii 3, surround : 3 sg. be- 

weorpeiS S4'''-*. 
be\vin<lan, 3, gird: jip. bewunden 31^, 

be^vitan, PP, watch over: 3 sg. bewat 

84». 
bewreon, 1, cin'er: pp. asf. bewrigene 

43I* ; pp. "i bewrigene 78^. 
be^Tctfian, Wl, sustain, support: pp. 

be\vre|)ed 8421. 
bewyrcan, \Vl, make, work: pp. asm. 

beworhtne 36^^ {Leid. asf. biuortha;). 
bi, prep. w. dat., />v: 45^- See be. 
biogan, Wl, buy: 3 pi. bicga'S 55I-. 
bid, n., delay, abiding : as. 4^. 
bidan, l. 1. await, expect: 3 sg. bidej? 

32I2; 2 pi. bidaS 425; inf. 161^. — 2. 

remain : i sg. bide 16^ ; pp. biden 832. 
biddan, b, pray: pret. 3 sg. ba;d 60''. 
bi<lfjp.st, zd]., Jixed : nsm. biidfa;st 57''. 
bidstcal, n.,halt: as. bidsteal giefe'S, 

stands at bay 41!^. 
bifeohtan, 3, deprive by fighting: pp. 

bifohten 4^-. 
bifoD, K, encircle, surround : inf. 41^'-; 

pp. bifongen 27". 
bihcaldan, R, see, behold: 3 sg. bihealde'5 

i85, 4i93; inf. 4 1 39. See behealdan. 
bihon, R, behang, hang round: pp. bi- 

hongen 571". 
bilet'gan, Wi, cover, envelop: 3 pi. bilec- 

gaS 27-''; [pret. 3 sg. bilegde i'^]. 
bill, n., sword: is. bille 6-. 
biliiran, 2, inclose : pret. 3 .sg. bileac 62^. 
bindan, 3, bind : i sg. binde 1 3^, 28I*' ; 

3 sg. bindeS 39'^ ; pret. 3 sg. bond 

34''; pp. bunden 22", 29^, "jz^-. See 

gobindan. 
bindero, m., binder : ns. 28^. 
biniiiian, 4, deprive : pret. 3 sg. binom 

272 ; pp. binumen 28^*. 



birgofan, 2, bereave, deprive : pp. biro- 
fen 4'^i, npm. birofene 14''. 
blsgo, see bysgo. 
bistelaii, 4, deprive : pp. bistolen 22^^. 

See bestelan. 
bitan, 1, bite: i sg. bite 66''; 3 sg. 

biteS 66-* ; 3 pi. bitaS 6^ 66^ ; opt. 

3 sg. bite 66** ; pret. 3 pi. biton 93^2 ; 

pret. opt. 3 sg. bite 93^^. 
biter, adj., bitter, fierce: nsf. 34^; ipm. 

bitrum 18^. 
bitweouuin, prep., betivecn : 302. 
biO'eecaii, Wl, cover: pp. bil'caht 3^. 
[biweorpaii, 3, surround: pp. biworpen 

i^.] See beAveorpaii. 
blaec, blac, adj., black : dsn. blacum 

ii''; isn. blace 9322; npn. blace 4^^ ; 

npf. blace 582 ; npn. blacu 52^. 
blac, adj., shining: ism. wk. blacan 4^*. 
blieean, Wl, bleach : pp. blSced 29^. 
blted, m. i. prosperity a.\\d breath {pldij 

on words): ns. 38^. — 2. glory: as. 

956. 
blandan, R, mix : pret. opt. 2 sg. blende 

41^9. See geblandaii. 
blletan, Wl, bleat: i sg. l)la;te 252. 
blawan, R, blow : pret. 3 sg. bleow 

(MS. bl€owe) 87G. 
blea<y, adj., timid, gentle : nsm. 41^6 
bled, f., blossom {leaf) : ap. blede 14^. 
bledh\vaRt, adj., fairfruitcd, rich in 

fruits : apm. bledhwate 2^. 
bleofag, adj., varicolored : nsf. 21^. 
bllcan, I, shine: inf. 35^. 
bliss, f., bliss : ds. blisse 32''' ; as. blisse 

birSe, see hygebliSe. 

blod, n., blood: ns. 93^^ ; as. 40^^. 
blonca, m., white horse : ap. bloncan 

-,-.18 
-J • 

blostnia, rs\., flower, blossom : ds. blost- 

man 412^. 
blowau, R, bloom: inf. 35"; ptc. nsm. 

lilowende 31*. 
boc, f., book (letter) : ap. bee 43^. 
bodian, W2, announce : i sg. bodige 9^". 



246 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



[bog, m., arm : ip. l)ogum i^^.] 
boga, m., bow : ns. agof = boga 24I. 

See wirboga. 
bold, n., hiiildiiii:;: as. 16". 
bona, m., iniirJcrcr : gs. bonan 21I*, 

73' ; ds. bonan 26''. 
bonnaii, R, siminioii, call: i sg. bonne 

-bora, sec feorli-, muiid-, woObora. 
borciaii, Wa, bark : pret. 3 sg. borcade 

(MS. boncade) 87''. See beorcan. 
bord, n. i. table: g.s. bordes 88 23.24; 

as. 93-'' ; dp. bordum i 5^. — 2. shield : 

as. 93". See lil«"o-, ntegledbord. 
boiMUveall, ni., shore ?, side 0/ ship ?: 

ap. boidweallas 34**. 
bosiii, m., bosom: ds. bosnie 4*", 13^, 

15I5, 243, 38", S06; as. 402, 153. 
bot, f., reparation : ns. 38^. 
brad, adj. broad: asm. wk. bradan i^\ 

comp. nsf. bicedre 4i5'5.b2_ 
bra'gnloca, m., skull: as. or ds. braegn- 

locan (MS. hra;gnlocan) 73-''. 
brf'ad, see boobread. 
brf-ag, m., brow: gp. breaga 41!'"^. 
brcalitm, m., liiiniilt, clangor: ns. 42^; 

is. bieahtme 5'' ; gp. breahtma 4*o_ 
-brec, see gebrec. 
brecan, 5, break : i sg. brece 7320 ; 3 sg. 

brice'iS 39^, 66* ; inf. 5^. 
bregdan, 3, trans, draw : i sg. bregde 

91^; opt. 3 sg. bregde 3'^. 
breost, n., /v-^(/.f/ : nj). i6^^. .S'tv bylged- 

breost. 
brt'rd, m., border, rim, brim : as. 27^. 
brim, n., sea: gs. l^rimes 3!^^ ii7_ 
brimgjipst, m., sea guest, sailor: gp. 

Ininigiesta 4-^. 
bringan, \Vi, bring: \ sg. bringe 9^; 

pret. 3 sg. I:)r6hte 23I', 60** ; pp. broht 

13"; jjp. (strong) brungen 22", 2S-. 
broga, m., terror : np. brogan 4''^i ; ip. 

brogum Leid. 13. See sperebroga. 
bro'ffor, m., brother: ns. brohor 44^1, 

•&f, 8813.23.26^ 93i'^;np. brohor 8820 ; 

ap. brohor 3222, 72^. See gcbroiS'or. 



bro'Sorleas, adj., brother less: nsm. 

brol^orleas 882*. 
bru, f., eyedu-insj : gp. bruna 41!'^'^. 
brfican, 2, enjoy : 3 sg. bruce'S 29"^ ; 3 

pi. brucaS 33I2 ; opt. i pi. brucen 42'^ ; 

inf. 2i30, 27I8, 4ii"n. 
brun, adj., broion: nsf. \vk. brune 61^; 

nsn. 93I6 ; asm.brunne 27^; ipn. brfi- 

num 18^; gpm. brunra 92^. 
bryd, f., bride, spouse : ns. 13^, 46^; ds. 

bryde 2^2^. 
buend, see eorO-, fold-, lond-, iif'ah- 

biieiid. 
biigaii, 2. I. bow, bend: inf. 73''. — 

2. inflect, vary : ptc. isf. bugendre, 

modulated 9". See oiibfigaii. 
bugaii, Wl, inhabit : 1 sg. buge 82, 16^ ; 

3 pi. bugab' 68^5. 
bunden, see searo-, unbiinden. 
bur, n., bower, tabernacle : as. 30^. 
burg, f ., city : ds. byrig 30^ ; as. 56'' ; 

dp. burgum 4'»^*.5i, 6«, 96, 35I, 832, 956. 

See ealdor-, niaigburg. 
burghliai, n., city height: dp. burghleo- 

)nim 282. See beorghlitf. 
burgsfi"!, n., city house: ap. burgsalo 

burgsittonde, mp., citizens : gp. burg- 

sittendra 26^. 
burna, m., burno, f., stream, burn : as. 

burnan 23^**. See byrne. 
butan, prep. w. dat., tuithont: 492. 
byden, f., butt, tub : ds. bydene 28^. 
byht, n., dwelling, abode: as. 23I2; ap. 

8-'. 
bylgedbrf'ost, -Ad]., puff'-breasted : nsm. 

(MS. byledbreost) Si^. 
byriiaii, Wl, burn : ptc. nsf. byrnende 

31*. See ba'rnan. 
byrne, f., mail-coat : ns. z\^. 
byrne, f ., stream, burn : gs. byrnan 4^2, 

See biii'ua. 
by.sgo, f., occupation : as. bisgo 57''. 
by.sig, see leg-, flragbysig. 
bysigian, Wa, occupy: pp. bysigo[d] 

73**. See gebysgian. 



GLOSSARY 



H7 



c 

V — rn>te K : over 9, 20'. 

raf, sec beaduoaf. 

fiT'fje, f., key: gs. caegan 43^-. 

culd, adj., colli : comp. nsm. caldra 41^''. 

See >vlnterfeald. 
oalu, adj., bald: nsm. 41^^. 
<-aru, f., sorroiv: as. care 44*. 
(•r-ap, sec .soarocPap. 
(■(>apiaii, sec geof-apian. 
ccastiT, f., camp, city: as. ceastre 60^^. 
ceuc, adj., bold: comp. nsm. cenra 41I8. 
ccnnan, Wl, bring forth: pret. 3 .sg. 

cende 36^ {Leid. caend[ce]) ; pp. canned 

40I5. See acennau. 
rPol, f., s/u/>, keel: ds. ceole 4-*, 19*, 

34-- 
coorfan, 3, citt: pp. corfen 29*. 
fcorl, m., churl, cou7itry7nan: gs.ceorles 

266 ; as. 288. 
<'f'Osan, see geoeosan. 
cirniaii, Wl, cry: i sg. cirme 9^; 3 pi. 

cirma^' 58* ; pret. 3 sg. cirmde 49*^ 
c'laiii, m., bond, fetter, fastenhig: ap. 

clamme 43^"-, clomme 4^^. 
c'lcT'ngeorn, adj., yearning after purity: 

nsf. S42G. 
clengan, Wl, adhere, remain: 3 sg. 

clenge'S 29^. 
clif, n., cliff: ap. cleofu 4-^. 
cloiii, see clam. 

<-lyinpro, f. ?, clump, mass: ns. 41"-^. 
clyppan, Wl, embrace: 3 pi. clyppalS 

2 7-<'. See ymbclyppaii. 
cneo, n., knee: ap. 45^. 
cnosl, n., kindred, family : gs. cnosles 

19*, 448. See geoguSenosl. 
cnyssan, Wl, smite, press: inf. 36^ {Leid. 

cnyssa). 
(•o«'or, m., quij'er : dp. cocrum Leid. 14. 
cofa, m., chamber, bo7ver: ds. cofan 64*. 
<-oinp, m., fi;ht: gs. compes 21^^; ds. 

compe 7-. 
^OInp^va'pcn, n., 7oar-weapon: ip. comp- 

wSpnum 21^. 
condcl, see da?gcondel. 



craeft, m., skill, cu7tning: gs. cra;ftes 

831"^; as. 32^^; is. cra;fte 22'', 43^^, 

7322.23, 8428; ip. crasftum 2,2^^, 36^ 

(so Leid.) ; ? cra;ft 841-''. See heah-, 

sundor-, Avael-, wundorcra-ft. 
crteftig, see hyge-, searocraeftig. 
creodan, 2, crowd, press : 3 sg. cryde^ 

428. 
Crist, m., Christ: ns. 72. 
ouiiia, m., guest, stranger: ns. 44^''. See 

Avih'uma. 
cuinaii, 4, come: 3 sg. cymeS [i2'"], 4*^, 

38*', 41^^; opt. I sg. cyme 648; opt. 

3 sg. Clime 16^", cyme 6^; pret. i sg. 

cwom 1 1^, 662 . pret. 3 sg. cw5m 23I, 

30^ 34I, 55I, 861, com 931s ; inf. 8819. 

See for«Tciiinan. 
ouunan, PP. i. know : 3 sg. conn 61II, 

70I ; opt. 2 sg. cunne 732°. — 2. be 

able: 2 sg. const 37I2; opt. 2 sg. cunne 

33I3; (jpt. -J sg. cunne 68^8; pret. 3 sg. 

cuj'e 60'". 
QvSS, adj., known: nsm. 95I ; nsf. 30^; 

nsn. 7322, cuh 34I1 ; asn. wk. cuj^e 45^. 

See iinforcutJ. 
CAvealm, see \va*lc^^'ealin. 
o^velan, 4, die: i sg. cwele 66^. 
c'wellan, Wl, kill: i sg. cwelle 21^; 

pret.? sg. cwealde 78®. 
fwf'n, f., queen: ns. 80^; np. cwene 50^. 
(•\v<"ne, f., woman : ns. 74I. 
o-\ve(Tan, 5, say: 3 sg. cwihe'N 68" ; pret. 

I sg. cwas'5 661 ; pret. 3 sg. cwje'S 49+, 

60''; pret. 3 pi. cwiedon 6o'2; pret. opt. 

3 pi. cwseden 60I8. See go-, 011- 

cwc'iVan. 
cwic, adj., aliTC : nsm. 73*, cwico 661; 

asn. cwicu 74^ cwico ii^, 14-'; gpf. 

cwicra 298 ; apm. cwice 72, 39''. 
cwide, m., speech, discourse : as. 48*. 

See galdor-, soS-, wordc>>ide. 
cyme, see seld-, upcyme. 
cymlic, adj., comely: nsf. 342. 
-cyiid, see gecynd. 
cyne^vord, n., fitting word: ip. cyne- 

wordum 441^. 



248 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



cyning, m., king: ns. 2i^ 41^; gs. 
cyninges 80^; np. cyningas 50^. See 
heah-, tfeod-, ^vuldorcyning. 

cynn, n., race, kind: gs. cynnes 34^, 
61*; ds. cynne 4^°; as. cyn 50^; gp 
cynna 42^, 562, 84*; gp. cy[nna] 84^^ 
} cynn 68", 782, 84I8. See from-, 
gum-, liSce-, mon-, -wiepnedcynn 

cyrran, Wi. i. turn : 3 sg. cyrreS 32^° 
pp. cyrred 29*. — 2. return : pret. 3 sg 
cyrde 23^''. 

cyrten, adj., beautiful : nsf. cyrtenu 26® 

cyssan, Wl, kiss: 3 sg. cysseS 64* 
3 pi. cyssa'5 152, 31^ a (/' gecyssa'S) 
See gecyssan. 

cystig, adj., bountiful: nsf. 84'-8. 

cySan, Wl, announce, make knozun, re- 
veal : opt. 3 sg. cyhe 44!^ ; pret. 3 sg. 
cy«de 8830; inf. cyhan f, 32^3, 959. 
^^^ gecySan. 

D 

D = r7ine M 75^. 

dsed, f ., a'^^a' : is. daede 1 z'. 

daeg, m., day : gs. dseges 2831', 50" ; 

as. 21'', 59*; dp. dagiim lo^; ip. 

dagum 6^*, 54*. 
daegcondel, f., sun : ns. 933". 
daegrim, n., number of days : is. daeg- 

rime 938. 
daegtid, f., day-time: ip. diegtidum (by 

day) 1 83, 72^^. 
dael, n., valley, dale: ap. dalu 93^. 
d£el, m., pari: ns. 29I, 6ii°, 65*; as. 

56*, 59^, 72I* ; is. dSle 27I0 ; ? dSl 738. 
da;lan, see gedielan. 
daro'3, m., dart: np. daro^"as 57*. 
dead, adj., dead: nsm. or nsf. 74* ; asm. 

deadne 10^. 
deaf, adj. deaf: asm. deafne 502. 
deagol, see degol. 
deall, adj., fraud: nsf. 32^2; apm. 

dealle 23II. 
dearnunga, see undearnunga. 
deaS, m., death : ns. 16", 85'^ ; ds. deajje 

13I5, 29"; ?deaSe 84« 



deaSslege, m., deadly blow : ap. 6^*. 
deaSspere, n., deadly spear : ap. dea^- 

speru 4^3 
deaw, m., dew: ns. 30^2. 
degol, adj., secret: asm. degolne 1621 ; 

apn. deagol 4i39. 
degolful, adj., secret : asm. degolfulne 

8313. 
delfan, 3, dig, delve : 3 pi. delfa'5 

4i9^ 
deman, Wl, declaim : inf. 29II. 
denu, f., valley : dp. denum 283. 
deop, adj., deep: nsm. 23^; asn. 1'^^ ; 

gpn. deopra 57''; apm. deo[pe] 93^; 

apn. 939. 
deope, adv., deeply : 54^. 
deor, adj., brave: nsf. 32^^; dsm. 

deorum 13^. 
deoran, \N\, praise, extol: 3 pi. deoraj^ 

deorc, adj., dark: nsf. 421 ; npn. 4*^ ; 

ipf. deorcum 13^. 
deore, adj., ^/^<?;-, precious: nsm. 181"; 

asm. deorne 44I ; comp. nsm. deorra 

843^ ; sup. nsn. deorast 12^; sup. gsn. 

wk. deorestan 34^'', 42*. See dyre. 
dohtor, I., daughter : ns. 26^ 34I0, 46'', 

80^; np. 472; gp. dohtra \d^'-. 
dol, adj., foolish, rash, light-headed : 

nsm. 4^3^ 2i32; nsn. 13^; apm. dole 

123, 281^ 
dolg, n., wound: np. 6^3; gp. dolga 

57* ; ap. 60". 
dolgian, see gedolgian. 
dolwlte, n., punishment of the unfust, 

pains of hell: as. 27I". 
dom, m. I. honor, praise : gs. domes 

32I8. — 2. decree, law : ds. dome 73I'' ; 

ap. [domas] 8 52. — 3. power, domin- 
ion : as. 83I3. 
don, anv., make, perform, do: 3 sg. 

deS 68'* ; 3 pi. doS 42', do\> 501° ; pret. 

3 sg. dyde 10^2, 212=, 27^, [d]yde 783, 

[dyde] 852 ; inf. 6o''i. See gedon. 
draedan, see orKlrtedan. 
dream, see seledream. 



GLOSSARY 



249 



drefan, \Vl, disturb, stir up: (wado, 
lajjii drefan = j«v'/«): i sg. (wado) 
dreie S- ; jiret. 3 sg. (lagu) drefde 

-J ■ 
dreogan, 2, siiffer, endure, perfortn : 

1 sg. dreoge 81^; 3 sg. dreogeS 33'" ; 

3 sg. [dreogeS] 70* ; pret. 3 sg. dreag 

52^ 57^ ; inf. 40", 59I. 
dreoht, see dryht. 
drifan, 1. drive: 3 sg. drifeh 41'^*. See 

bcdrifan. 
drinc, sec ntandrinc. 
drincan, 3, drink: 3 pi. drincaS 15^2^ 

21I-, 64'''; pret. 3 pi. druncon 56^, 

57", 681^ inf. 136, 72^. 
drohtaT^, m., condition, manner of life: 

as. 7I0. 
dropa, see speddropa. 
druncmcnnen, n., drunken maidserv- 
ant: ns. 13^. 
drygc, adj., dry : nsm. 41'^'. 
dryht,f., multitude, (pi.) ?nen: gp.dryhta 

29", 42*; dp. dryhtum 131^, z,i-; dp. 

dreohtum (MS. dreontum) 4*^. 
dryhten, m. i. lord, master : ? dryhtne 

71^ — 2. Lord: ns. 41^2^ driht[en] 

852 ; gs. drj-htnes 60^, dryht [nes] 60^1. 

See in-, niondryhteii. 
dryhtfolc, n., multitude : gp. dryht- 

folca 27I". 
dryhtgestreon, n., noble treasure : gp. 

dryhtgestreona 18'. 
dufan, 2, dive : pret. i sg. deaf 74^ ; 

pret. 3 sg. deaf 52^. 
dugan, PP, avail, hold 07it: 3 sg. deag 

73''; pret. 3 sg. dohte 62''. 
dugu'5, f . I . benefit, advantage : dp. 

dug)'um 50^". — 2. safety : ap. duguj^e 

93'- 
dumb, adj., dumb : nsm. 54^, wk. 

dumba 50^'', 60^ ; nsf. 32!" ; asm. wk. 

dumban 50^; dpmf. dumbum 51-. 
dun, £., /////, down : ns. 4-I ; gs. dune 

(MS. dum) i62i; dp. dunum 2%^; 

ap. duna 39^. 
durran, PP, dare: 3 sg. dear 16^''. 



duru, f., door: dp. durum 16^^, 29'^. 

diist, n., dust : ns. 30I-. 

d\viesoan, Wl, extittguish: 3 sg. 

dwaesceN 84^^. 
d^v^'lan, see gedwelan. 
dwellan, Wi, mislead: i sg. dwelle 12^. 
dyfan, Wl, dip : pret. 3 sg. dyfde 27^. 
dygan, see gedygan. 
dyn, see gedyu. 

dynt, m., bhnu : dp. dyntum 28^'^. 
dyp, n., t/ie deep, sea : ds. dype 421. 
dyre, adj., dear, precious : nsf. 84^2 ; 

gsm. wk. dyran 83I* ; apn. 418^ ; ? dyre 

84^3 ; comp. apn. dyrran 50^. See 

deore. 
dyrne, see undyrne. 
dysig, a.d]., foolish : apm. dysge 12^. 

E 

E = rune H : 206, 652-*. 
EA = rutie T : 65*. 

eac, adv., also, likewise, moreover: [i^^], 
37I2, 4 1 40, 64I3, 778. 

eacen, adj., increased, endowed, mighty. 
nsm. lo^ ; nsf. 34^^, 8420'26 . npn. 6^^. 

ead, n., happiness, bliss : as. 2f-^. 
eadig, adj., happy, blessed, prosperous: 

dpm. eadgum S4-". 
eadignes, f., happiness : gs. eadignesse 

[Ead^vacer, m., Eadwacer [Odoacer ?) : 

as. or vs. i^^.] 
eafora, m., offspring, progeny: ap. ea- 

foran \6^-; ip. eaforan 2121. 
cage, n., eye : ns. 26" ; as. 38*, 86^ 87^ ; 

np. eagan 41II; gp. eagena 40^1, 

eagna 60^ ; dp. eagum 16^ ; ap. eagan 

37'', 8r'; ip. eagum 84^1, 93^2. 
eald, adj., old, ancietti: nsm. 9^; dsm. 

ealdum 41^'^; asm. ealdne 28^; comp. 

nsm. yldra 41 ''2, 72^. 
ealdor, n., life: ns. 10^; ds. ealdre 

68". 
ealdorburg, f., royal city : as. 60". 
ealdorgesceaft, f., condition of life : ns. 

4o23. 



250 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER ROOK 



call, adj., all, the wltole of: nsn. 94''; 

gsn. ealles (adv., close) 16'*; asm. 

ealne 41^*, 67''; asf. ealle 41^"; asn. 

eal 4i33,40,84. npm. ealle 56^°, 67'''; gp. 

ealra 14I, 34^^ 40", 4i*'88, 47^; dpm. 

eallum 30^, 52^ ; ap. ealle 84^, 93-1 ; 

ipn. eallum 41!"^. 
call, adv., ivliolly, oitirely : eal 6'', 

838. 
callfelo, adj., all-fell, 7'ery baleful: asn. 

ealfelo 24'^ . 
eallgcaro, adj., all-readv, eager: nsf. 

24*. 
r>ain, m., uncle : n.s. 47". 
ear, m., sea, ocean : is. eare 4^2. 
earc, f., c/iest : as. earce 62^. 
eard, m., dwelling; place, region : ns. 

881* . ds. earde 34^ 73^, 838, 93" ; as. 

616, 678, S16, 8819. 
oar<lfR'.st, ad]., fixed, fist in its place: 

asm. eardfaestne 50I. 
eardian, Ws, dwell, abide : pret. 3 sg. 

eardade 88^8 . j^f. 882^. 
eare, n., dY/r : np. earan 16''; ap. earan 

8 1 3, 863. 
earfoS, n., trouble, affliction, tribulation : 

gp. earfo'Sa 72I*. 
earh(.?), 11., dart: as. EA[rh] (i^^\ 
earhrarii, i., flight of arro7os: as. ajrig- 

fxrae Leid. 13. 
oanii, m., arm : ap. earmas t^^, 86*^. 
cariii, adj., poor, miserable, wretched : 

(l])ni. earmum 84-" ; superl. nsf. ear- 
most 4oi"'. 
earn, m., eagle: ns. 41*''; as. 25*. 
[earn, adj., quick, ready, active: asm. 

earne ii".] 
CaSe, adv., ^rt.f//j' : eal't- [ii**], i6i9, 24", 

4 1 ''•■', 568 ; [eal>e] 4i**'*. 
eaAVunga, adv., openly : 73^5. 
eaxl, f., shoulder •.'i eaxle 73!"; ap. 

e.xle -^^^ ; ap. ea.xle 70^, 860. 
eaxlf»estealla, m., shoulder-companion : 

ns. 80I. 
ece, adj., eternal, everlasting : nsm. 4 1 1 ; 

ipf. wk. ecan 41^"^. 



ccg, f., edge : ns. 4*2, (MS. ecge) 276 ; 

ds. ecge 4''2 ; np. ecge 34* ; gp. ecga 

61"; ip. ecgum 6". See heard-, sti'fl- 

ecg. 
ednnve, adj., re/iewcd : nsf. ednlwu 42I. 
efeiilang, cid].. Just as long: asn. (MS. 

efelang) 45". 
efiie, didv., Just, even, exactly: 41^, 40^'', 

661. 
efiietan, 5, eat as much as: inf. ^\^^. 
eft, adv. I. again: 3I*, 438.M 79, 2-]^-^^, 

38", 63'', 66-, 8(/, 938. — 2. backwards: 

24I. — 3. on the other hand, still: 2113. 
egesfiil, adj., fearful, terrible, awful: 

nsm. 34*. 
egle, adj., hateful, deadly: npf. 72"; 

ipn. eglum iS'-'. 
[f'gloiid, n., /.f/(///(/ : ns. i''.] 
eg.sa, m., fear, terror: ns. 433.40. gs_ 

egsan Leid. 13. 
ell, n., horse : ap. 23". 
ehtuwe, num. adj., eight: 37*. 
elleii, n., strength, force, courage : ns. 

62'', 739; as. 8830. 
elleiirof, adj., powerful, strong, brave: 

npm. ellenrofe 23-''. 
ellorfn.s, adj., eager for the Journey: 

npm. ellorfuse 44I3. 
ende, m., end: ns. S4I"; ds. 808, 88-3,24, 
eiKlleofan, num. adj., eleven : np. (MS. 

XI) 233. 
engel, m., angel: gp. engla 678. 
engii, f., lujrrow place, confinement: 

ds. enge j^-^-. 
eodor, m., enclosure: ns. iS"-. 
eofor, m., boar: ds. eofore 41I8. 
eoretliiuecg, m., horseman : np. cored- 

macgas 23". 
eored'Oreat, m., band, troop : ns. eored- 

I'lcat 4«. 
eorl, m., chief, hero: gs. eorles 6ii3, 

8o''' ; gp. eorla 47'; dp. eorlum 9^, 

32II, 568, 95I; ap. eorlas 23II. 
eorp, adj., dark, dusky : nsm. 50II ; gsn. 

eoip[e]s 93-''; npf. wk. eoqian (MS. 

eaq^an) 4''- ; .' eorp 73!^. 



GLOSSARY 



2U 



eorffbuontl, m., liweller on earth : dp. 

eoriSbuendum 30*. 
eortfe, f., earth : ns. eorhe 54''' ; gs. 

eor)>an 4i'*'-^ 6SI6, 83^, 882^. ds. eor- 

|>an 2'', 4*'^, 7^, 28*, 36II {Leiii. eorSu), 

4i4o.6o.82^ 42**, 51^ 77^; as. eorj^an 3-, 

173, 28I6, 3012, 4 1 1.21, 678, 84", 8821; 

as. eor'San gsi** ; ? eorj^an 84!^. 
eorOjurii'f, n., iiiell,pit: as. 59^. 
esiic, m. I. servant: ns. 445.8. 16. — 2. 

youth, man: ns. 45*, 55^, 64^ ; as. (MS. 

efne) 28^ ; ap. esnas 281^. 
esol, m., ass: gp. esla (MS. esna) 23I'. 
est, mf., grace, favor : ip. estum {gladly) 

272*. 
otan, 5, eat: 3 sg. itej' 591", iteS 778. 
eO't'l, m. I. home, abode; ds. e'Sle i6i2; 

as. ehel 67", 93**. — 2. land, domain : 

ns. e)'el 17^. 
eOclffPStcn, n., land'' s fastness, fortress: 

as. e)>elfa2Sten 732^*. 
e'3elstol, m., paternal seat, habitation : 

ap. el'elstol 4". 
e?J<Ja, conj., or : e'Sj^a 44^^. 
exl, see eaxl. 



F = rune Y : 20^, 655. 

fiT'one, ad]., g/tileful, crafty, evil: dsm. 

f£cnum 54*. 
faedcr, m., father : ns. io2, 38^, 41^*, 47*, 

84». 
fag, j<v bleo-, haso-, sinofag, ivonfali. 
^agCT, 3.d]., fair, pleasant : nsf. 84''; nsn. 

32"; comp. nsf. fSgerre 41*^. 
fxgre, adv., fairly, pleasantly, fittingly : 

13", 212,291, 518, 544,642, [726], 7321. 
fah, adj. i. proscribed: nsm. 2ii*'. — 

2. hostile : nsm. 83*. 
nrhJf, f., feud, enmity, vengeance : ip. 

fjeh|>um 30". 
falca(?), m.,y;7/i-<';/ : ns. FA[lca] 65^. 
fa-Isian, see gefSIsian. 
fam, x\.,foam : ns. 3^. 
faniig, a.A]., foamy: nsm. 4^^. 
ficniig, i\d]., foamy: nsm. 4^2. 



ftemno, f., maid, bride, woman : ns. 43^, 

fa.'r, m., danger, peril: as. 54I2. 
-fara, see geftira. 

faran, 6, go, fare, depart : 3 sg. fare 5 
4", 1 8", 243, 63^ 843, fKre« 22*; 3 pi. 
faraX 4*'"'; pret. 3 sg. for 37^; inf. 33*8, 

faroO', see merefaro'S. 

faru, f., carryi)ig, tratisfer : as. fere 

(< fxMe) yi^^. See earh-, Avolceii- 

farii. 
ftest, z.d.\., firm, fixed, secured: nsm. 182, 

6i3; nsn. [i^], 2213; npn. 35^; gpm. 

fffistra 53" ; apf. faeste 35'^. See bid-, 

card-, hyge-, sige-, tfryin-, avTs- 

ffest. 
faeste, zdw, fast, firmly: 4I, 13^, 17I1J, 

24", 2726, 534, 57G, 62I, 7i4, 8825. 
faesten, n., prison, confinement: as. 26^. 

See f'flVlfjcston. 
fa>t, see lyft-, siO'-, Ava'gfa»t. 
fa?t, ^.d]., fat: comp. nsm. fajttra 4ii°5. 
fieted, pp., rich, ornamented: asn. 52'. 
faethengcst, m., road-horse: ns. 23!*. 
fa}(Jm, m. i. embrace, embracing arms: 

is. fae'Sme 64^ ; dp. fasj^mum ^^^, 2j-^ ; 

fas'Smum 11^, 674. — 2. bosom, breast: 

ds. fctSme 13II. See lagufteSm. 
fip'd'nian, see beffieiVniaii. 
fpa,adj.,_/6'w: nsm. fea (Snig) 61^; npm. 

-ft'a, see gefea. 

fcaldan, R,fold: pret. 3 pi. feoldan 27'^. 
feallan, R, fall: 3 sg. fealle]? 221^, 

fealleX Sii", 9324 ; pret. 3 sg. feol 30I2 . 

inf. 446. 
fcalo, adj., fallow, yelhnvish : nsn. 16I ; 

nsm. \vk. feahva 56I''; npf. fealwe 73I8. 
feax, n., hair of head, locks: ds. feaxe 

(M.S. feax) 93I2. See -wonfeax. 
foaxhar, adj., hoary-haired: nsf. 74I. 
fedaii, \^\,feed, 'nourish, sustain : 3 sg. 

fede'5 352; 3 pi. feda^ 51*; pret. 3 sg. 

fedde 10*, 72^, 77I ; pret. 3 pi. feddon 

73I, feddan 544. 



2C2 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



fegan, Wljyf.v: 3 sg. fegeS 26^; pret. 

3 sg. fegde 626. 
fela. I. indecl. n., many. 9II, 22*^, ^t,^, 

35"' 83^'', [fela] 83I. — 2. adv., w//f// : 

328, 593. 
fSlan, W\,/ee/: 3 sg. felejj 26^, fele'5 

84*9 ; 3 pi. fela-5 78. 
felawlonc, adj., 7'e7-y proud: nsf. 13^. 
feld, v£\., field: ap. feldas 33^. 
fell, n., skin, covering: gs. felles 77^; 

np. 143; ?[f]ell 82'». 
felo, see eallfelo. 
fen, \\., fen, swamp, morass: ns. ^v^^ \ 

[ds. fenne i^]. 
-fenga, see ondfenga. 
fenyce, f.,/t'«-/>-t»^: ns. 4i''i. 
feoh, n. I. cattle, herd: as. 35'. — 

2. 7noney, fee: is. feo 55^^^. 
feohtan, 3, fight, contend: inf. 7^, 17I; 

ptc.npf. feohtende 4*^. 6"<'<?bifeohtaii. 
feohte, i., fight, battle: as. feohtan 6*. 
fSol, i.,file: gs. feole 71*; is. feole 912. 
feolan, 3, 4, pass : inf. 23''. 
feon, see gefPon. 
feond, m., enemy, foe: ns. 22^, 5i,'» 93-*'; 

ds. feonde 51*; gp. feonda 27^. 
feondsceaSa, m., plundering enemy, 

robber : as. f eondsceaJ>an 1 5^^. 
feorh, n., life, soul: ns. 10-, 13'' ; ds. 

feore 21^^ QJ""* (tefre to feore = 

forever) 41®^; as. feorg 14^, feorh 

11^, i6^^ 40^*^; is. feore 4^2, 24I'', 27^ 
feorhbealo, n., life-bale, deadly evil: as. 

24^. 
feorhberond, m., life-hearer, man : gp. 

feorhberendra 40*'. 
feorhbora, m., life-hearer: ns. 92^. 
feorm, see swiSfeonn. 
feorniian, Wa, cleanse, polish : 3 sg. 

feormaiN 73^1. 
feorr, adv. ,/</;-: feor 24^. 
feorran, adv., afar, far off', from far: 

f, is', 296, 552. 
feower, num. adj.,y"^wr : d. 52'' ; a. 39^, 

52I, 56'-, 72^, (MS. iiii) 23*, feowere 

37^- 



feran, yVi,go, travel: 1 sg. fere 2^ 4''^ 

13I, 22I, (MS. fereiS) 958; 3 sg. fere'5 

4-^ 59^ 93^^ ; 3 Pl- feraS 4", 58^ ; inf. 

30". 33^y 37^ 40®. 41*^^ 69I, 75I; ptc. 

nsm. ferende 8^, nsf. ferende 84*, 

apf. ferende (MS. farende) 4^^. See 

geferan. 
fere, see faru. 
fergan, Wi, hear, carry, conduct : 3 sg. 

fere'S 15'', 59*'^i; pret. 3 sg. ferede 20*'; 

pret. 3 pl. feredon 28*; inf. iG^^^ ^■ji_ 

See o<5fergan. 
-ferh, see \videferh. 
fering, f., journeying, tra^'eling : gs. 

feringe 73'-'. 
fer3, mn. 1. mind, spirit, soul : is. ferhe 

27-I; ip. ferjium 84*^, ferJShum 55I2, 

ferjijium 60*. — 2. life: as. (MS. forS) 

745. 
fer?ffri<Tende, adj., life-saving: apm. 

39^- 
feterian, see gefeterian. 

fe?ye, n., walking, going, motion : ds. fe)'e 

i62. 
fe«5egeorn, adj., desirous of going: nsf. 

fe^egeorn 32^. 
fe(Veleas,adj.,yi't'//e?,w : asf. fe)'elease jj^. 
fetJeinund, f., foot-hand, fore-foot : ip. 

fejiemundum 16^'. 
fetfer, i., feather, (pl.) wings: np. fe^re 

28*. See halsrefe'Ser. 
fif, num. ct.d].,five: n. fife 47'"'. 
findaii, •.i,find: 3 sg. finde^' 35*5, SS^* ; 

3 pl. findaS 44^ ; inf. 6^1 ; pp. funden 

28*. See onflndan. 
finder, m., fi nger : np. fingras 27''', 4i'^2; 

ip. [finjgrum 64^. 
firas, mpl., men : gp. fira 68* ; dp. firum 

34^-^. 
firen, f., e7'il deed, sin, crime : ap. firene 

8488. 
firenian, Wa, revile, chide : pres. 3 sg. 

firenaj> 2\^^. 
flrgenstream, m., mountain-streatn, 

ocean: ip. firgenstreamum Ii2. 
iiso, m.,fish : dp. fiscum 74''. 



(GLOSSARY 



253 



fl<Tero, n., wing: ap. fil'tu 37'. 

flji, f ., dart, arrow : ap. flan 4'''". 

flan, m., arrow, dart: gp. flan[a] 57'-; 

ap. [flanas] /.ehL 14. 
fljesf, n. x.JIcsh: as. 77^; ? flSsc 82'*. 

— 2. body: ap. 2^''. 
fleam, m.,y7/^///: is. fleanie i6'-'. 
fleogan, 2,yfj': 3 sg. fleogcS 24I2; 3 pi. 

fleogaiN iS^ ; pret. i .sg. fleah 74''' ; pret. 

3 sg. fleah 38^, 65'', fleag 23I6, fleag 

(MS. fleotgan) 52*; inf. 486, 328, 4i«6, 

fleon, 2, yf^f : pret. i sg. fleah 16'^. 
flet, x\., floor, hall: ds. flette 43^; as. 562, 

57i^\ 
flint, xn., flint: ds. flinte 41"*. 
flintgrjfg, adj., flitU-gray: asm. flint- 

grSgne 4^^. 
flooan, Wi, clap: 3 sg. floce'S 21 3*. 
flod, m., flood, wave, sea : ns. 23^ ; ds. 

flode 89, 23", 41", 743, 778; as. 418; 

is. flode 1 12; np. flodas 6y*; ap. flodas 

1 5", 78^. See laguflod. 
flo<Uveg, \a.., flood-way, watery way : ap. 

flodwegas 37^. 
flot, n., sea : ? flote 78^. 
flowan, see underflowan. 
fljTnan, V\\, put to flight: 3 pi. flyma'S 

17*'; inf. 15I9. 
flys, n., fleece, wool: ip. flysum 36'' {Leid. 

fliusum). 
fodor, n., food, provender, fodder : gs. 

fodres 59^1. 
fo<lor\vela, m., abundance of food: gs. 

fdddorwelan ^2^'^. 
fo\Q,\\., people, folk, race: gs. folces 65''; 

ds. folce 34I2 . dp. folcum 4''^ 953; ap. 

86. See dryhtfolc. 
folcsael, n., folk-hall, public building: 

ap. folcsalo 2^. 
foli'scipe, m., people : ds. 33'''. 
folcstodc, m.. folk-stead, city: ds. 6^^. 
folcwiga, ni.. -warrior : np. folcwigan 

15I8. 
toMY*vken(\,m., earth-dweller, man: gp. 

foldbuendra z^^. 



folde, f. I . earth, world : gs. foldan 29', 

42"; ds. foldan ^^^'^^ 401"^. — 2. groutid, 

soil : gs. foldan 67*, 92- ; ds. foldan S'-* ; 

as. foldan 2^, 13', 74^. 
folgian, Vi<i, follow: pret. 3 sg. folgade 

382, 872. 
folm, f., hand, palm : ns. 41^^; ds. 

folm[e] 646; as. 40^''; is. folme 73^; 

np. folme 32'; gp. folma 28!^; ap. 

folme 335, f [olme] 68^ ; ip. folmum 

2 1 34, 60I8, 628. 
fon, R, receive, grasp, seize : 3 sg. fehiS 

28^ ; pret. 3 sg. feng 573. See bifon. 
for, prep. w. dat. i. before, in the pres- 
ence of: \(^^, 21^2, 3612 i^Leid. mith), 

49^'S 568, 61 15. — z. for, on account 

of: 7I^ 93^®- 
for, i., journey, course : ns. 20^ ; gs. fore 

12^; ds. fore 44^'^, 52'; is. fore 41"!. 
foran, adv., in front, before: 452, 548. 
forcu(5, see unforruS. 
forht, adj., terrible, dreadful: nsm. 44^'^. 
forhtmod, adj., tifnid, afraid: nsm. 

1 613. 
forlaitan, R. i . allow, grant : pret. 3 sg. 

forlet 392. — 2. release, let loose: 3 sg. 

forlffite'S 24". See anforlStan. 
forst, m.., frost; ns. 4r"'*, 93I2, [fjorst 

8 1 10. 
forstelan, 4, steal with violence, rob: pp. 

forstolen 15!'^. 
forstondan, 6, hinder from, withstand: 

I sg. forstonde 178. 
forstrang, adj., 7-e7y strong: asm. for- 

strangne (MS. fer strangne) 51*. 
forswelgan, 3, swallow up, de7>our : 3 sg. 

forswilge'S(MS.ferswilgeS) 50II; pret. 

3 sg. forswealg 48^. 
fortf, adv. i. forth, forxaards : 22", 

3o".i3, 6428, S55, 91O. — 2. forthwith : 

2 1 24. 
for'ffciinian, 5, come forth : pp. njMTi. 

foriScymene 14IO. 
forSgesceaft, f., creation : ns. 84^. 
for'Son, adv., therefore, consequently: 

forhon 1612, 21-30^ 0-1.3^ 6S1''. 



254 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



for'Ssu'V, m., going forth, departure: gs. 

for(Ssil)es 63-. 
for'Sweard, adj ., forward, prone : nsm. 

73-'^; nsn. 22!-^ 
forSweg, m., forth faring, journey: 

gs. forSweges 31^. 
forweorO'an, 2, perish, die: opt. piet. 

I sg. forwurde 6^. 
fot, m., foot: ds. fote 32I', fet ^f'^ 

as. 3220, ^qIo, 9325, foot Si''; np. fet 

32'' ; gp. fota 2S15, 57*^ ; ap. fet 37^ 689, 

SG'*; ip. fotum ii,'^', 41", 82*. 
fracoO'lIfC, adv., hostilely : [fracjadllcas 

Leid. 14. 
frSge, see gefriege. 
frtet^van, \Vl, adorn, deck: 3 pi. fra;t- 

waS 36!'' {Leid. frcetuath); pp. frsetwed 

15II, 296, 32^0; pp. asm.fraetwedne 62^. 

See gefra't^v(i)an. 
frjetAve, fpl., ornaments, decorations : 

np. (wings) 8^; dp. fraetwum 41^''; 

ap. 14^'^; ip. fraetwum 15''. 
frea, m., /ord, master : ns. 4I, 7^, 93^''', 

(MS. freo) iS^; gs. frean 466, 45'-, 738, 

916; ds. frean 212.2*, 44IO, ^gio, (..i, 

632, So2. 
ft'et'ne, adj., dangerous, perilous: asf. 6*. 
frei'iie, adv., severely, savagely: 2\^^. 
frefraii, Wl, console, comfort: i sg. fre- 

fre 7T. 
fremde, adj., strange, foreign, remote: 

nsm. 17'^; dsm.fremdum(MS.fremdes) 

95*- 
freinnian, Wl, do, perform : i sg. 

fremme 212^; inf. 32^, 73^^; ger. 

fiemmanne 882^. 
freininoiid, see tilfremniend. 
frenm, £., comfort, ad7'antage : ip. fre- 

mum 51**. 
freo, adj., free, noble, precious: gpm. 

freora 16^^. 
freogan, W3, love : 3 pi. freogaS 

fireolic, adj., /(?/■;•, comely, noble: nsm. 
922; nsf. 842*^, freollcu 62^; asn. 15^''; 
np. freolico 47*. 



freoiKl, xr^., friend: ds. freonde 21^"; 

gp. fieonda 2721 ; dp. freondum 95*. 
freorig, adj., freezing, frozen : nsm. 36^ 

(so Leid.). 
freoTJian, W2, care for, protect, cherish : 

3 sg. freol'aJS 91"; piet. 3 sg. freol'ode 

10''. See fri?yian. 
fretjin, 5, devour, consume : pret. 3 sg. 

fi-ffit 48I; inf. 77^ 
friogan, f>, ask: imp. 2 sg. frige 15'^, 

171'j, 2726, 2S15. 6tv gefriogan. 
frigiian, see gefrignaii. 
fri(J, n., peace, protection : as. 73'-''. 
fri(J, adj., stately, beautiful: nsf. frl)>e 

io«. 
fri«5ende, see fer'OfriZfende. 
fri'Sheiigest, m., horse of peace: ap. 

fri^'hengestas (MS. fridhengestas) 

-J • 
friO'ian, \^% protect: inf. fri)'ian 17". 
See freoSiau. 

fri'iJosped, f., peaceful happiness : gs. 

fri)iospe[de] 6o"^ 
f rod, adj. 1. wise, prudent, sage : apm. 

frode 6o'' ; comp. npm. frodran 2721. 

— 2. old, aged: nsm. 54'*, 93"; nsn. 

83I ; asm. frodne J^^; comp. nsm. 

frodra 84^^. 
frofor, f., comfort, consolation : gs. frof re 

6-* ; ds. frSfre 40I9. 
from, prep. \v. dat., from, away from : 

o,-2:) ^.W ,,1-2 
- ' 1 -J I 44 • 

from, adj., strong, bold, swift: nsm. 632, 

73"" ; gP^- fi'omra (MS. frumra) 52*; 

sup. nsf. fromast 842^. See orlegfrom. 
fromcyiin, n.,(?;/6V.r/ri': ns. S3I; as. 83'''. 
fromlice, adv., strongly, boldly, swiftly: 

16I', 41'^'; comp. fromlTcor 41^''. 
friima, m., beginning, commencement : 

is. fruman {at first) 83'^. 
friimbearn, n., first-born : np. 47''. 
friimsocaft, f., creation : ds. frumsceafte 

4". 
friiinstaSol, m.. original station : is. 

frumstal'ole 61''. 
fryiiiTJii, f., beginning: ds. fryml'C 4i^'^''. 



GLOSSARY 



255 



ftigol,m., /'/;■(/: ns. fugul 37'; gs. fugles 

27", 37^1 ; ds. fugele 32" ; dp. fuglum 

74^. See s»«Vl'ugol. 
fill, :s,A)., full : asm. fulne 4*^ ; comp. 

nsf. fulre 64*. See ffrymful. 
ful, adv., very: 26«, 316, 4il0'», %f, 8S15. 
ITil, adj., yi;///, dirty, unclean: nsm. wk. 

fula 41*8 ; comp. nsf. fulre 4121. 
full, n., receptacle (of water), cloud: as. 

438. 
fullestan, \\\, help, give aid: 3 sg. 

fuUC'steS 258. 
fiillwcr, m., complete iver, full atone- 

»icnt: as. 24^'*. 
fiiltiini, m., prop, support: ns. (MS. 

fuglum) 52*, (MS. furum) 59^''. 
fiiiidiaii, Ws, stri'i'e, intend, desire : 3 sg. 

fundaS 84''' ; piet. 3 pi. fundedon 23^. 
fiir'iYiiiii, adv.. //r.f/' : 4'-'. 
fus, 2t.d].,protnpt, ready, eager: nsm. 31^, 
73-"; dsm. fusum 93^'-; np. 4'*^. See 

cllorffis. 
fy\\i\n,\\l,t/irowdo7ijn,fdll: i sg.fyHe2^. 
fyllaii, Wl,///: inf. 628. .Vtt .iefyllan. 
fyllo, i., fullness: ns. (MS. felde) 38-'; 

gs. fylle 18^; as. 43^. 
tyr,x\.,fre: gs.fyres7i*; ds.fyrei3i'; 

as. 4r8 ; is. fyre 4*^ 31^ S3'*. 
fyrd, f., expedition : as. 73-^ 
fyrdriuc, m., -warrior: gs. fyidrinces 

So-. 
fyrdstM'orp, n., -war-ornantent : as. 15^3. 
fyrii, adj., ancient, old: nsf. 84^. 

c; 

Cl = rune X 20", 25'^. 

gafol, n., tribute, gift : as. 39^ ; as. gaful 

jj ■ 
Kill, scc hygegal. 

^alan, 6, chant, cry : 3 sg. gasleS 2\^. 
;;al<l()r, n., song, chant: gp. galdra 68^. 
gal<Iorc\vl<U', m., mystical saying, song: 

as. 49". 
gaii, anv., go: 3 sg. gSeS 41'"; pret. 3 

sg. code 5". 
gangan, see gongan. 



garsocg, m., ocean : gs. garsecges 3-'', 

41-'^ 
gsi'st, m. I. guest: as. giest 44^; dp. 

gestum 23^*. — 2. enemy, stranger : 

ns. 16^'^. .SVt'bruiig{est,hiIde-,ryue-, 

staelgiost. 
gtSst, m., spirit, soul: ns. 8', 60I* ; ds. 

gieste 60'' ; as. 13'-; is. gSste lo^; gp. 

gSsta 4'''', 41*1, 495 ; ap. gjestas 2>'^. 
gtiestberend, m.., possessor of spirit, liv- 
ing man : ap. 218. 
gat, i.,goat: ns. 25-. 
[gcartor, adv., together: i^^.] 
gear, n., year : gp. geara 2iZ^^' 'P- g^^" 

rum -jf. 
gf'ara, adv., already, formerly : 21 29. 
geard, n., dwelling, home : dp. geardum 

44^, 92*; ap. geardas 218. See iiiid- 

dangeard. 
gearo, adj., ready : comp. nsm. gearora 

84^^. See eallgearo. 
goaro, adv., swiftly : 41 1^. 
gearAve, adv., 'well, readily : 83*'. 
geat, see hordgeat. 
geat\vaii, \V 1 , make ready, adorn, equip : 

pp. geatwed 29*'. 
geatAve, fpl., ornaments : dp. geatwum 

36^° {Leid. geatum). 
gobelgan, 3, anger, enrage: pp. gebol- 

gen 4 1 19. 
gebennian, Wa, rcound: pp. gebennad 

gobiiulan, 3, bind: pp. gebunden 57''; 

]:>p. asm. gebundenne 58. 
gcblaiidaii, R, mix, mingle : pp. ge- 

blonden 4--, 248. 
gobre*', n., noise, crash, thunder: njx 

gebrecu 4''* ; gp. gebreca 4*'. 
gobroO'or, mpl., brothers: np. gebro|ior 

14-- 
gobysgian, W2, occupy, busy, agitate : 

pp. gebysgad 3i^(? (/^ gemylted). 
geceapiaii, W2, buy, purchase : 3 sg. 

geceapab 24!^. 
geoeosau, 2, choose, elect: pp. gecoren 

32IO. 



256 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



gecrod, see lilo(Sgeorod. 

gec\ve"flan, 5, stjy, announce : pret. 3 sg. 

gecwaeS 49^. 
geoynd, f., nature, kind, condition : ds. 

gecynde 73* ; dp. gecyndum 40^^. 
gecyssan, Wi, kiss : 3 pi. gecyssa'5 31^ ^ 

(a cyssa'5). 
gecytfan, Wl, announce, tnake known: 

inf. gecyhan 84^. 
geA^\a,n,\^ \, separate: 3pl.ged2elai?85''. 
gedolgian, Wa, wound: pp. gedolgod 

54«. 
gedon, anv., do, make, cause : pret. 3 

pi. gedydon [i^*], 73®. 
gedreag, n., tumult {sea) : as. y^'^. 
gedwelan, 4, err, 7nislead \ pp. npm. 

gedwolene,/^rz'^rj-^, wrong, 12'^. 
gedygan, Wl, survive: 3 sg. gedyge'S 

398 ; 3 pi. gedygaS 4^^. 
gedyn, m., din, noise: is. gedyne 4*^. 
gef^elsian, Ws, cleanse, purify : pp. 

gefielsad 83*. 
gefara, m., companion : ns. 80-. 
gefea, m., Joy, gladness: ds. gefean 42^. 
gefeon, .'>, rejoice, exult, he glad: pret. 

3 sg. gefeah 65^ 
geferan, Wl, accotnplis/i, experience : 

pp. gefered 38*. 
gefeterian, W2, fetter, bind: pp. npm. 

gefeterade 53*. 
gefraige, adj., known, renowned, fam- 

ojts : nsm. 95''. 
gefra;t\v(i)aii, Wl,2, adorn, deck: pp. 

gefrastwed 54^, gefraetwad 32-. 
? gcfriogan, 5, lear7i by hearsay : pp. 

[gefrigen] '&^^'^. 
gefrigiiaii, 2, learn by asking, find out, 

Iiear: pret. i sg. gefraegn 46^, 48^, 

49I, 681. 
gefiillod, sec ungefuUod. 
gefyllan, Wi, fill: i sg. gefylle 67^; 

3 sg. gefylleS 1 5^ ; pret. 3 sg. gefylde 

45^ PP- gefylled 18-. 
gegier^van, see gegyr\van. 
gegnpa'«5, m., hostile way, hostile path : 

ds. gegnpal'C 16-^. 



gegyrdan, Wl,^>(/: pp. npf. gegyrde 

-7 -.16 

gegyrwan, W^l, adorn, furnish, equip: 

pp. gegyrwed 2x2, gegiervved 29^, 30^, 

372, 681^ 692. 
gehabban, W3, hold, hold fast: inf. 

1 7 10. 
gehajlan, Wl, heal, save : pret. 3 sg. 

gehslde 6^- ; opt. 2 sg. gehiele 49^ 
gchladan, 6, load: pp. gehladen 84^1. 
gehleSa, m., companion, comrade : as. 

gehle^an 93-^. See -wilgehlgOa. 
gehnast, see hop-, ^volcengehnast. 
gehrefan, Wl, roof cover : pp. gehrefed 

2l0_ 

gehreodan, 2, adortt : pp. gehroden 

8422. 
geh^va, pron., each : dsm. gehwam 3^2, 

12^; dsf. gehwam 55^; dsn. gehwam 

34!^; ism. gehwam T)T,^'^, 61^; isn. 

gehwam 82^. 
gehAvylc, pron., each, all, every : nsm. 

72''; gsm. gehwylces 14^; gsn. ge- 

hwylces 41^^; dsm. gehwylcum 42*, 

83!^ 9513. 
[gehyran, Wi, hear: 2 sg. gehyrest 

1 16.] 
gehyrstan, Wl, adorn: pp. gehyrsted 

gela'dan, Wl, lead, conduct, bear : inf. 

1 620. 
gelTc, adj., like: np. gellce 32". See 

ungelu'. 
geliones, f., likeness, image : ns. y]^^. 
gelonie, adv., frequently, constantly : 

J- ■ 
goina'dan, Wl, madden, make foolish : 

pp. npm. gemiedde 12". 
gcnisenan, Wl, utter: I sg. gemiene 25*'. 
geiiia'iie, adj., mutual, in common : np. 

723. 

gemaniaii, W2, warn, admonish : pp. 

gemanad 4^''. 
geinct, n., measure: is. gemete 51". 
gen»i«'lian, W2, enlarge, magfiify : pp. 

gemiclad 842^, nsf. gemicledu 2i20. 



GLOSSARY 



257 



gcmlttan, Wi, meet: 3 pi. gemittaS 

4-'. 
geiiionjj, n., lompaiiy : ds. gemonge 

-.-.4.11 

j- 
geiiiot, n., meeting, coinitig togethe?--. 

gs. gemotes 6'", 261". See giicTgeinot. 
geniiiiian, PP, remember, bear in miini : 

I sg. gemon 83''; 3 pi. gemunan iSi'. 
geiuylUm, \Vi, cause to melt, soften : 

pp. gemylted 31^ b (a gebysgad). 
geinynd, f., memory, rei:ollection : as. 

60". 
gen, adv.,y<'rw^rr/)' : gien z\-^. See vm 

gen, (Jii gen. 
gena, adv., iv/: 41^^, geno 21 29. 
geiiiogan, Wl, attack, assail: 3 sg. 

genJegeS 211^. 
genanina, m., companion : ns. (MS. ge- 

namnan) 54^^ ; np. genamnan (MS. 

genamne) 53". 
geniSstsin, Wi, contend : 3 sg. genSste'S 

2S1''». 

geneahhe, adv., sufficiently, abundantly, 

fre</uently : g'^, 13I2, 27^, 32^". 
geneari^ian, Wa, confine : 3 sg. ge- 

nearwaS 4I ; pp. genearvvad 71*. 
genergan, Wi, sa7'e, preserve : inf. 16^^. 
geniwian, Wa, renew : pp. genlwad 

149. 
geoc, f., lielp, aid, safety : ns. 6^. 
geofon, n., sea, ocean : ns. gifen 3^. 
geofu, see gifu. 
geogii'Ornosl, x\., youthful family, prog- 

etiv : ds. geoguScndsle 16'". 
geoguiVinyrO', i.,joy of youth : gs. geo- 

gu^"^lyrJ'e (MS. -myrwe) 39^. 
geolo, adj., yellow: asn. 36^" {Leid. 

goelu). 
geond, prep. w. ace, through, through- 
out, (ner: 2^ 13I3, 356, ^o^'i^, 83I", 

84*0, 8810. 
geondsprengan, Wi, sprinkle over: 

pret. 3 sg. geond[sprengde] 27*. 
geong, adj., young: nsm. 15^; nsf. 

41**, 74I ; ? geong 88^ ; comp. nsm. 

gingra93i*; comp. npm. gingran 88^. 



geongan, see gongan. 

geopan, 2, take to oneself, receive, swal- 

Unc (Sw.) : pret. i sg. geap 24^. 
geopenian, W2, open : imp. 2 sg. ge- 

opena 84''''*. 
georii, adj., desirous, eager: nsm. 32^*'. 

Sec claen-, fe<5egeorn. 
georne, adv., gladly, eagerly : 5-. 
geraeean, Wl. i. reach, st7-ike: 3 sg. 

gerSce'5 4^^. — 2. reach, arrive : i sg. 

gerSce 16-^. 
geren, n., ornament : np. gereno 27I*. 
gereord, n., speech, voice : ip. gereordum 

15^6. 
geruni, n., space, room : as. (on gerum, 

(// large) 2 1 ". 
geruma, n., space, room : ds. geruman 

1 616. 
geryde, ad]., fitting, ready, prepared : 

npn. ? 64I8. 
geryht, n., straight direction : ap. (on 

geryhtu, straight, direct) 4^^. 
geryinan, Wl, make room, clear {way) : 

I sg. geryme 63*. 
gesiSlig, adj., happy, blessed : nsm. 41^*. 
gesceaft, f. i. creature, shape: np. ge- 

sceafte 4'''-^; gp. gesceafta 41^8. — 

2. nature, condition : as. 34^. See 

ealdor-, for?Jgesceaft. 
gesoeap, x\.,fate, destiny: ds. gesceape 

736; as. 39*; np. gesceapu 10'', 40^*; 

ap. gesceapo 70'*. 
gescyldni, np., shoulders : dp. gescyl- 

drum 4Il°^ 70*. 
gescyppan, 6, create, form, make : pret. 

3 sg. gescop 24", 881^. 
gesecan, Wl, seek, visit: inf. 40^, 60I*. 
gesecgan, 'W'.i, say, tell, narrate: pret. 

3 sg. gesaegde 39^ ; inf. 5I2, 40® ; gar. 

gesecganne 37I', 40-^. 
geselda, m., companion : ns. 80''. 
geseon, 5, see, behold: pret. i sg. ge 

seah 30I, 35I, 37I, 38I, 39I, 5711", 

6816, 69!, 75I, 76I. 
gesettan, Wl, create, establish: pret. 

3 sg. gesette 7I. 



258 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



gesib, adj., iieai; related: gpm. gesib- 
bra 27-''^; apm. gesibbe 162^. See 
iinjicsib. 

gesih'fl, f., si^'/il, Ttsion : as. 60^. 

gesittan, 5, sit: .' gesast 78^. 

gesTiS, m., eompanion^ comrade: np. 
ge.sij>as 31 5. 

gesoin, adj., united: npm. gesome 

SS29. 

gesoinnlan, W2, join, unite, collect : 

pp. ge.somnad [i^^], 31^. 
gest, see gjest. 

gestealcl, see wuldorgesteald. 
gestealla, see eaxlgestealla. 
gestillan, Wl, still, qiciet, calm : 3 sg. 

gestilleS 4^^. 
gestreon, n., treasure, xvealth : gp. ge- 

stieoiia 2 r'l, 29''. See beam-, dryht- 

gpstreon. 
gostiiii, n., ivhirhuind : ds. gestune 

gesiind, adj., safe, sound: npm. 23-I, 

gesunde 44^' ; comp. npm. gesun- 

dran 27^". 
ges^veostor, fpl., sisters : np. 47^. 
ges^vcotlIlian, Wa, manifest : pp. ge- 

.sweotlad 84-^. 
geswican, l, cease, leave off, desist: 

3 .sg. geswice^ 28^^ . ^ pi. ge.swica)' 

1210. 
gesyiip, adj., seen, visible: nsf. 40'; 

njjn. 1 4''. 
gotSfiiian, Wa, betoken, signify : pp. 

getacnad 64I''. 
gcta'se, adj., convenient, pleasant: nsf. 

S4--;-. 
gctenge, adj., near to, close to: nsm. 

7^ S*, ii-*, S4-5 ; nsf. 535 ; nsn. 57^; 

asf. 772. 
gotreoAVO, :\.d]., fait/iful, trusty: gpm. 

getreowra 27^^. 
gcO'oiK'an, Wl, reflect, consider: ger. 

ge|>encanne 42**. 
gecJeou, Wl, tame, oppress : inf. ge}>eon 

41^1. .^tv ge?fy Avail. 
ge<5oiio, see ingeOom-. 



geTfrajc, n., crowd, press : ns. gehrjec 
23" ; as. gejraec 3^, 401 ; ap. gejircecu 
36'* {Leid. gicSrnec). 

ge'flriiig, n., tumult, crowd: ns. ge- 
l-ring 4"^ 

ge«Tringan, 3, sTvell : pp. asf. gelnungne 
S72. 

geSrfien, isolated pp., pressed, forged: 
gel'iuen (MS. ge))uren) 91^. 

ge'ffAviere, adj., gentle, calm: nsm. 
(adv.?) gejiwaere 51*'; npf. gel^wiere 

-,15 
J • 

ge'Sy\van, Wl, press, urge, compel: 
pret. 3 pi. gej'ydan 61^*. See geiSeon. 

geAviede, n., garment: ns. 36I'* ; as. 
(MS. gewiedu) 36I- {Leid. giiiSde). 

gOAvealcaii, R, roll: pp. gewealcen 
-,4 

geAveald, n., power, rule, dominion : ds. 

gewealde 4I*' ; as. 28^*. 
gcweaxaii, {i,gro7i',gro'U' up : pret. 3 sg. 

geweo.x 80^. 
geAvefan, 5, weave: pp. gewefen 41^^. 
ge\vendan, Wl, turtt oneself: inf. 88^^. 
ge\veor(Jan, 3, become, be : inf. geweor- 

ban 4i«. 
ge^veortJian, Wa, honor, adorn : pp. 

geweor^ad 71^, 84-*. 
geAvin, n., contest, strife : gs. gewinnes 

17'; as. 21^, 24-. 6\'£.' gu(J-, streain- 

gowin. 
gewiiidan, 3, ^cind, t-ioist: pp. apm. 

gewundne 4i^'''. 
gcAvinna, see la?SgeAviniia. 
gcAvit, n., mind, understanding: as. 

40J''. 
gewitan, PP, knoiv: pret. 3 sg. ge- 

wiste 30^*. 
gCAVitan, 1, go, depart: i sg. gevvTte 

3I, 4'''', 17-13 ^S- gewTte'5 40^ ; pret. 

3 sg. gewat 30I013, y.8. pret. 3 pi. 

gewTtan 14II. 
ge\vlitigian, W2, adorn, beautify : pp. 

gewlitegad 32^, 332, 84^"^ 
ge-\vregan, Wl, stir up : pp. gewreged 

3'- 



(GLOSSARY 



259 



p;«'^v^it, 11., 7i'/-///'//j,', 1><h>/c: up. gewritu 

ge^viinian, Wu, d-.vc-il : pret. i sg. ge- 

wuniide 61-'. 
ge^vyrraii, Wl, make, create: pp. ge- 

worht 70^. 
gey^van, Wl, shou<, 7-eveal: pp. geywed 

gled, n. I. word, speech : a.s. 48'''. — 
2. song; [as. giedd i^^]; ds. giedde 
So^*^. — 3. riddle: gs. gieddes 561-'. 

-giel, see widgiel. 

giol<laii, 3, yield, pay : 3 sg. gielde'5 

jj • 
giellan, 3, yell, cry: i sg. gielle 25-'; 

ptc. asn. giellende t,^. 
gielpan, 3, boast: 3 sg. gielpeS 59I'-. 
gu'n, see gen. 
gliTAvan, see gyrwaii. 
giest, see gfcst. 

giestron, 2,&\\, yesterday : 41**. 
gietan, see ongietan. 
gif, conj.,//: [!■■!•"], 429.M, 12W 13^ i67. 

J4,i!0.24 ,74.5,8 ^,19.24 -, < 12 -i-lS -,,C12 

3°^ ZZ^^^ 37^^ 39''''. 43"'- 44*'^ 5i^ 

54I2, 6o9, 62^ 72I', 739, 85", 955. 
gifan, 5, give: 3 sg. giefeS 41^^; [opt. 

3 sg. gife ii] ; pret. 3 sg. geaf 2i*'23; 

? geaf 72-. .SVt' ii-, ofgifan. 
gifcn, Jcv geofon. 
gifrc, adj., useful: nsm. 27^^ ; ipf. gif- 

rum 50''. 
gifro, 2id]., greedy, voracious : sup. nsf. 

gifrost 8429. 
git'u, f., gift, favor: dp. geofum 84''^ ; 

ip. gifum 591-^. See AVilOgicfii. 
giin, m., ge7n : dp. gininium 84'^''. See 

Av;«'I<siiii, AviilcJorgimm. 
gTiiiiii, sec l>c<>Tii;iii. 
jiin-ira, .-cc <;('()ii<». 
<:;iiiiiaii, sec oiigiiiiian. 
filtsiaii, \\'2, desire, crave: 3 sg. gitsaS 

gla'<l, adj. I. shining, bright: nsm. 
C4''. — 2. glad, joyous : nsf. glado 
25'- 



gleaw, adj., wise, sagacious, skilled: 
nsm. 33", 361-', 843*; apm. gleawe 
6o2 ; comp. nsm. gleavvra 48". 

glea^ve, adv., wisely, prudoilly : 49^. 

gle<l, i., fire, flame: ns. 31*. 

gleiii, see lioaiTogleni. 

gleowstol, m., glee-stool, seat of joy : as. 
(MS. gleawstol) 931^. 

glida, m., kite: gs. glidan 25^. 

gliwiaii, Wa, adorn : pret. 3 pi. glTwe- 
don 271-^ 

god, m. I. God: ns. 41-I; gs. Codes 
6oi-* ; ds. Code 49** ; as. 60*. — 2. di- 
vinity, god : as. 95^. 

god, adj., good: nsf., good So^o ; asm. 
godne 45^; npm. gode 55^^; gpm. 
godra 27-2. See betra, selra, iingod. 

godlio, z.^]., good : nsm. 87*. 

god\veb, n., precious web, fine cloth, 
silk : as. godwebb 36I'' {Leid. godweb). 

gold, n., gold : ns. 92'*; gs. goldes 41*'^, 
49^, 60^''; ds. golde 50''; as. 21^, 52^ 
56^ 716; is. golde 152, 2713,643, 6817. 

goldhilted, adj., having a golden hilt: 
asn. 56II. 

gonia, m., palate: ds. goman 41^^, 50". 

gong, vi\., going, course: is. gonge 41"-. 
See hingong. 

gongan, anv. 1. go: i sg. geonge 22^; 
3 sg..> gong[e«] 824; jnf. 3.8, 86I, 
gangan 55I; ptc. nsm. gongende 41I", 
nsf. [g]ongende 82^, dsf. gongendre 
22^. — 2. happen, turn out: 3 sg. 
gonge'S 40^3. — 3. go, be turned, be: 
3 sg. gongcS 353; opt. 3 .sg. gonge 
37I''. See ofer-, togongan. 

gop, m., slai'e, servant: gs. gopes 5o3. 

gor, n., dung: gs. gores 41"-. 

gos, f., goose : ns. 253. 

griT'dan, Wl, cry: i .sg. griiede 25^. 

gra-dig, vlA]., greedy : nsm. 39-; sup. 
nsf. grSdgost 8429. 

gra»f, see eorSgraef. 

grafan, 6, dig, break into: i sg. graefe 
22'-; pret. 3 sg. grof 34^ 93!". 

grteg, see flintgrti'g. 



26o 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



grap, see nearograp. 

grapian, Wa, yi'tV, g>-asp : pret. 3 sg. 

grapode 46-'. 
grass, n., ^^''-f^ : as. 16^. 
great, c\.d]., g>-eat : ? gieate 82-. 
grene, adj., green : nsm. wk. grena 

^j5i.83. ,is,^ 22^; asn. 16*'; npm. 67*5 ; 

apm. 1 3-. 
greot, m., i/ust, sand : ds. greote 25*- 
gretan, Wl, greei, visit, address: pret. 

3 sg. grette 89^ ; inf. 5^, 456. 
grim, adj., fierce, bitter, cruel: nsm. 

wk. grimma 44- ; asf. wk. grimman 

4^" ; sup. isn. grimmestan 29^. See 

heoru-, hete-, waelgrim. 
grima, m., specter, phantom : ns. 41^'. 
griiiiniau, 3, rage, roar : 3 sg. grimme'S 

J ■ 
griniine, adv., grimly, fiercely: 51^, 

S45. 
grindan, 3, grind: inf. t^-^. See be- 

grindan. 
gripan, 1, grasp, seize, lay hold of : 3 sg. 

gnpe'JS 26^ ; pret. 3 sg. grap 87*. 
gripe, m., grip, grasp : ds. 71^. 
grom, z.di]., fierce, hostile: npm. grome 

73^; gpm. gromra zi'^^. 
gromheort, adj., hostile-hearted : dp. 

gromheortum 5''. 
groAvan, R, ^row, spring, sprout : inf. 

gruiid, m. I. ground, earth : ds. grunde 
22^, 23!^, 84^. — 2. depth, abyss : as. 3*, 
41^3; dp. grundum 67^ See sirgrund. 

grundbedd, w., ground : as. 84^^. 

grymetian, \V2, rage, roar : 3 sg. gry- 
meta■^' 84'. 

gryrelif, adj., horrible, terrible: nsm. 

gtima, m., man : np. guman '^Z^'^y 49^' 
64'*, 681'' . gp gumena 24!"^ 29^, 83^. 

gumcynn, n., mankind, men : gs. gum- 
cynnes 882". 

gumrinc, m., man : ns. 87*. 

gu<i, f., war, battle: as. gu)>e 2i25; is. 
gu)>e 21^9. 



giiSfiigol, m., /vVi/ of war, eagle: gs. 

guMugles 255. 
guSgeiiiot, n. battle-Tneeting, battle : gs. 

gul'ge motes 1 6-". 
gu?fge\vin, n., battle : gs. gu^gewinnes 

66. 
gutfwiga, m., warrior : gs. guSwigan 

92^. 

gylden, adj. golden : asm. gyldenne 6o^ 
gyinan, \N\. care for, heed : 1 sg. gyme 

2 1 35. 
gyrdaii, Wi, gird, bind round: pp. 

gy rd e d 91'*. See gegy rdan . 
gyrdels, m., girdle, belt : ds. gyrdelse 

55"; as. 55". 
gyrn, n., grief, sorrow, afiJiction : ns. 

16^ ; ds. gyme 83^. 
gyrAvan, \Vl, adorn : 3 sg. gyrweS 21^; 

pret. 3 sg. gierede 271^. See gegjT- 

%\'an. 

H 

H = rune N: 20-'^, 25^, 65^, 75^. 

habban, W3, have : i sg. hasbbe 2^^, 
192, 228, 806, 81 2, 83W, 9325, hafu 365 
{Leid. hefas), 41^8; 3 sg. hafa'5 3221, 
352, 4o3.10.12. 16.18^ 5^7^ 663, 688, 842, 
iiafa)' 70^; 3 pi. habba'5 321^, 56'!, 
habba)' 27'-! ; opt. 3 sg. [haebbe] 84^3 ; 
pret. I sg. haefde 11^, 27^, 72I2, 74^; 
pret. 3 sg. haefde iqH, 20*, 32^, 2^, 
373.6, 388, 7326, 863, [h^fde] 83I, 
hsfd[e] 892; pret. 3 pi. hasfdon 143, 
233 ; inf. 466, 2 1 28, gjS ; ptc. gsm. haeb- 
bendes 653. See gehabban, uabban. 

had, xn., person : ap. hadas 2I2. 

hafoc, m., haiok : ns. 25', 416', 
COF(0)AH = HA{0)FOC 2o"-8, HA- 
[foc] 653. 

hfeft, n., haft, handle {captivity) : ds. 
haefte 7322. 

hseftan, \Vl, bind, confine: pp. hasfted 

haeftenyd, f., captivitv: as. h3Eft[e]nyd 

haegl, m. i. hail: ns. 81^. — 2. name 
of r tine H : np. haegelas 43II. 



GLOSSARY 



261 



ha^ostoald, 11., celibacy, bachelorhood : 

ds. hagostealde 21^^ 
ha<<;osteaUIiiioii, m., bachelor, warrior : 

IIS. 15'-. liagsiealdmon 55''. 
liiTlan, sec <^i^\\ii'\i\i\. 
-ha-Ic, sec oiiliiTle. 
Iia>l<>n(l, m., Healer, Savior: as. 60®. 
ha'h'rt, m., hero, man: ns. 2']'^'^, 63*, 

np. 28^ 56^, 57^1 ; gp. haslel'a 2', 4^, 

8^ 2i3i, 4i9*'; dp. haelehum 9^", 272^, 

36*2 (Z^/V/. heliiNum), 49I, 60''^, 70^, 

§^22.35.53^ (MS. Sldum) 48*. 
tiali<>;, adj., holy : nsm. 27-*. 
luT'lo, f., safety : as. 49^. 
\\A\'iyVC\..,neck: ns. 16^ ; ds. healse 72^2, 

halse 32'-''. 
halsrefe'Ser, f., pillcnv-feather, down : 

ds. halsrefej>re 41^*^. 
hals^v^iiffa, m., necklace, chain for neck : 

as. hals\vri)>an 5^. 
ham, m., /lome : ds. 30^ 35*, 44^, 78^, 

ham[e] 30''. 
hiT'ined, n., sexual intercourse : as. 

2r-^«. 

h a? mediae, n., sexual intercourse, wed- 
lock-game : gs. hSmedlaces 43^. 

hilmleas, adj., homeless : nsf. 40^. 

ha-ii, f., he)i : ns. H/EN 43^"ii. 

haiia, m., cock: ns. HAN A 43*"^^ 

har, adj., hoary, gray : nsm. 22^, wk. 
hara 41''*, 93^1. See feaxhar. 

hiT-r, see her. 

liaso, adj., gray: nsf. wk. heasewe 
41*^^; asm. wk. haswan 25*; npm. 
haswe 2^; apf. haswe 14'. 

\\i\st.tia.'^,'!ii}i\., of gray color \ nsn. 12^ 

h;T-st, see hest. 

hat, adj., hot, fiery: nsm. wk. hata 
44'' ; asm. hatne 63" ; com]), nsm. 
hatra 41'*". 

hatan, R. i. command, order: 3 sg. 
hatel> 7^, 41"^; pret. 3 sg. het 91^'', 
hcht 41*; pp. haten 62*. — 2. call, 
name: inf. 36^2. pass, i sg. hatte 

2'5, 472, 9H, ,,", 131-5, I5I9, I7IO, 20«, 
24I6, 2726, 2SI5, 639, 67IO, 7329, 80", 



831s 86' ; 3 sg. hatte 4029, 44i''-', 56I6 ; 
pp. haten 25^, npf. hatne 43^^. 
he, pron., he: nsm. [i^-^], 4*', 16^*, 

2S"'12, 335.9, 415.6,7,19.65,94.108^ ^^7^ ^gfi^ 

492, 5x5.8, 344,8^ 351^ 36«, 6oi^ 665, 
7327, 76G, 853.'«.5, 9111; nsf. heo io"'i2, 

2l33, 26^ 32l3.1*,356, 4o5.27,4i26.28_ 6^,2, 

he[o] 397, hlo 32i«'2i, 357, 378, 3^6^ 
40-.8.io.i6,i8.2o,2i,29_ (]\IS. hie 6) 559, 
62^ 68*, 8o5, 8427, 87G.' ; nsn. hit[iio], 
30''; gsmn. his 16^5, zi'^'^, 362 (so Leid. 
2), 38^ 4i^^>^\ 449, 454.6, 471,2, 3i3, 
54^ 55'•^ 5613, 608, 64', -JO*, 739, [his] 
84II, 8830; gsf. hyre 106 2\^^»*, 32^. 
13.21, 348 ; dsmn. him 453.54, 16II.25, 20*, 
386, 392, 444, 5o"9, 515.6.6, 6o7, 784?, 
838, 856, 89% 93I3 ; dsf. hyre 42, 305.10, 
32I7.21, 33.3, 555.10 ; asm. hine [12.'], 
429, 23I3, 24I2, 515.8.10, 34.?, 3615. asf. 
hie 55I, 594; asn. hit 38*, 40*, 4147, 
61I6; np. hi 78, 12!", 175, 236, 31', 
hy [i2.7], 146, 21 10, 23I9, 27I9, 446,12, 
54I0, 84I4?, heo 126; gp. hyra 78, 
142,5, 239.18,21, 2723, 47.3, 4^8, 3,6. dp. 
him [ii], 128, 178, 32I5, 447.11, 318. 
ap. hy 2724, 586, hi 2725. 

heador, see heatfor. 

heafod, n., head: ns. 16I, 91 1; gs. 
heafdes 549; ds. heafde 2212,4198,102. 
as. 268, 597, 625, 663, 8i2; is. heafde 
45''^; gp. heafda 864; ap. heafdu 378. 

hejjfodbeorht, adj., harming a bright 
head: asm. heafodbeorhtne 2o2. 

hoafodleas, adj., //^rt(//^j-j : nsm. 151°. 

heafodAvoIff, f ., voice: is. heafodwol'e 93. 

heah, adj., high, lofty, exalted: nsm. 
70«, 8828, 933 . nsf. hea 84 ; nsn. 427.63 . 
dsm. heaum 2319 ; asm. heane 8i2, 
hean 4122; npm. hca 237; apm. hea 



424 ; ipf. heahum 



comp. nsm. 



hyrra 88i5; comp. nsf. hyrie 41^8, 

942; sup. n?sn. wk. hyhste 84I2. .SV^ 

steapheah. 
heah, adv., high: \2^. 
hf'ahfra'ft, m., excellent skill: asm. 

364 {Lad. hehcrcEft). 



262 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



heah<'yiiiiij>',m.,/' /<,'■// -/Jv«^'', God: 113.41^^. 

heahlaii, K. 1. hold: i sg. healde 
4r'"; 3 sg. healde S 2ii-^; pret. 3 sg. 
heold 43^'*. — 2. hold to, coiifiniie : 
I sg. healde 9'*. — 3. c/u-ris/i, foster : 
pret. 3 sg. heold 10^. — 4. /-it/t;, gov- 
ern: 3 sg. healde'JS 41''^, healdej> 
41--. See be-, bihealdan. 

healdend, m., holder, possessor: ds. 
healdende 21-^. 

healf, f., side: ds. healfe 228, SS^s. 

heall, f., hall : ds. healle ^G^^^ 60I". 

heals, see hals. 

hean, adj. i. hnv, deep: nsm. (MS. 
heah) 4^^. — 2. poor: npm. heane 
331-^; dpm. heanum 95-. — 3. iiieau, 
vile : comp. nsf. heanre 40^. 

heanniod, adj., y/iea/i of spirit: npm. 
heanmode 43^". 

heap, m., troop, eroiod, flock : ip. hea- 
pum 58'*. 

heard, adj., hard: nsm. 15!'^, 34', 63^, 
(MS. heord) 4^, wk. hearda 41", 569, 
81^ ; nsf. 275, 80^ ; nsn. 45'', 93I" ; dsn. 
wk. heardan 41™; asii. 81*; npm. 
hearde 88^3. dpm. heardum 910 ; 
apm. hearde 53- ; comp. nsm. heardra 
^i54.78^ 84''''; sup. isn. wk. heardestan 
29-. See hriinijiheard. 

hearde, ■^^&^ ., fiercely, severely '■ 91^. 

heardecg, adj., hard of edge : npn. 6^. 

hea?fogleiii, m., wound: gp. heaj'o- 
glemma 57^. 

heaSor, n., restraint, confineinent : ds. 
hea))ore 2ii-', headre 66^. 

heaSosigel, m., sun {of battle) : ns. hea- 
J^osigel 73I9. 

hebban, 6, raise, lift : 3 sg. hefe'iS 45'' ; 
pret. 3 sg. hof 55^ ; inf. 46^. See a-, 
oiihebban. 

hefiji, adj., Iteat'v : asm. hefigne 59"; 
comp. nsf. hefigere 41'^. 

hel, f., hell : ds. helle 40^'! ; as. helle 676. 

helm, m. i. protector: as. 27^'^. — 
2. co7'eri>ig : ns. SS^*^ ; as. 4'''*. See 
suiidheliii. 



helpeiid, m., helper : vs. 49^. 
helwarii, f ., people of hell : gp. helwara 

56«. 
hengest, see fa^t-, fri?J-, inerehensest. 

heofoii, m., heaven : ns. 94- ; gs. heofo- 

nes 4i*'33, 875 ; ds. heofone 41^^; as. 

41-2; (jp. heofonum 30I'-, 40-''; ap. 

heofonas 67*'. 
heofoinvoleii, n., cloud of heaven, rain : 

ns. (MS. heofon wlonc) 73-. 
heolfor, n., hlood, gore : ns. 93''. 
heord, f., family, flock : gs. heorde 

18I. 
heort, see groinheort. 
heorte, f., //t'i/;/: ds. heortan 43^"*; ip. 

heortum 27-'^ 
heorugrlni, adj., 7'ery fierce : nsm. wk. 

heorugrimma 41^*^. 
heoruseearp, adj., very sharp: npn. 

heoroscearp 6**. 
her, adv., here: 4132.49.01.77.81^ .^.e^ 4_^i6^ 

50W, 88^3. 
her, n., hair: np. i6'*; dp. herum 27^; 

ip. hierum 36'' {Leid. herum). 
here, m., army, host, troop : gs. herges 

808. 
heresi?f, m., military expedition, war- 

marching: ds. heresi)>e 30''. 
\i€^i,i., violence, hostility: as. 16-*; is. 

hSste (MS. haetst) 4^. 
hetegrliii, adj., malignantly fierce : nsf. 

heterun, f ., charm causing hate : as. 

heterune 34". 
higora, m.,y,/r: GAROHI = HIGORA 

25^-«. 
hild, f., battle, flght: ds. hilde i^''; is. 

hilde 34^. 
hildegiest, m., enemv : ds. hildegieste 

hildepil, m., ^oar-dart : np. hyldepilas 

iS'^; ip. hildepllum 16-^. 
liilde'ffryQ', f., strength in 7oar, tvar- 
force : as. hildej>ry)?e 20'*. 
• hildewa'pen, n., war-'weapoti : ns. 92^. 
hilted, see goldhilted. 



GLOSSARY 



26' 



liiiidan, adv., from behind: 91''; on 
liiiKian, behind, 3SI, Sg'*. 

liiiideweard, adj., hinthvard, from be- 
hind: dsf. hindeweardre 22I''. 

\\\\\'^iM\^^,xv.., departure : gs. hingonges 
(MS. ingonges) 63I. 

hrd'aii, Wl, plunder, lay waste, ravage: 
3 sg. hll'eiN 35*; ptc. nsm. hil>ende 
34". 93-'"'. gpni- l^il'endra 95". 

hladaii, 6, load: i sg. hlade 4''''; pret. 
3 pi. hlodan 23!^. See gehladan. 

hlivdor, f., ladder : as. hlSdre 56''. 

hiaford, m.. lord, master: ns. 5*, 2i^-^^, 
gi'*; gs. hlafordes 59^^; ds. hlaforde 

44^ 57". 
Idal'oiMlleas, adj., /o^vZ/^j-j : nsm. 21--. 
hla-st, n., load, burden : ap. 2^^. 
lilcalitor, m., laughter, noise: ns. 34^. 
lilf'o, ni., shelter, cover: ds. 28'''. 
hlf'obord, n., corrr, bindi/ig: ip. hleo- 

bordum 27'-. 
hieor, n., cheeh : dp. hleoruni iG'*. 
hloortorht, adj., briglitofface: nsf. 70''. 
lileosi'eorp, w., protecting garment : is. 

hleosceorpe 10^. 
hleoSor, n., voice, speech, song: ns. 

hleoj'or 32^"; as. hlcohor 25^; is. 

hleoKe g'', 15"*. 
-hle<5a, .f^v gohlf-cKa. 
hlidan, see onhlldaii. 
hlifian, \V2, toiver, stand out : 3 pi. 

hlifiatS 1 6-*; inf. 54I. 
hliiiiinan, :<. i. roar: 3 sg. hlimme'5 

3'''. — 2. soioid: 3 sg. hlimmeS 36'' 

(Leid. hlimmith). 
liliii, m., maple}: ns. 56^ 
Iiliii, ni., noise, clamor, din : ns. 2". 
lilinc, ni., link, linch, hill: ap. hlincas 

hiinsian, W2, resound, make a din : 
pret. 3 sg. hlinsade 34^. 

hli'd, n., cliff, mountain-slope : ap. hleol'a 
3", hlil'O 93". See beorj;-, burg-, 
stiinhliff. 

hloiffpfccrod, n., press 0/ troops, congre- 
gated band : ns. 4,^^. 



hlfid, adj., lo7id: nsm. 4,-'^, 85' ; isf. 

hlude 49- ; sup. nsn. hludast 4'*''. 
hlude, adv., loudly : y\ 4''-, 8", g-''^", 34''', 

liliitter, adj., bright, clear : asm. hlut- 

terne zv. 
lilyitTaii, see behlyO'an. 

hiieoca, m., neck : as. hneccan Sr"*. 
hiH»s(',adj.,jt7/if: comp.nsf. hnescre 41^". 
hiiT»'an, \, betid, bow down, descend : 1 sg. 

hnlge 4*'''. See on-, underhiiigan. 
Iinitaii, \, push, thrust: inf. gi*. 
Ijnossian, W2, strike, beat : 3 pi. hnos- 

sia'5 6'. 
[hogian, Wa, think : pret. i sg. hogode 

(MS. dogode) i^.] 
hoi, n., hole: ds. hole 63'; as. 45^. 
hold, adj., kindly, loving, gracious : nsf. 

lo'*; dsm. holdum 62*. 
holdlicc, adv., gently, sweetly: 35'*. 
liolen, m., holly : ns. 56^". 
holm, m., ocean, water: as. 4''^^; is. 

holme 2^'^ 
holmmaegen, n., force of waves, holm- 
mass : is. holmmajgne 3^. 
holt, n. I. holt, wood: gs. holtes 22'^; 

ds. holte 92I ; np. SS^^. — 2. wood 

[piece of) : as. 57^. 
homer, m., hainmer : is. homere 91^; 

gp. homera 6". 
hon, see blhoii. 
hond, f,, hand: ns. 13I-, 61I'; as. 50^, 

80^; dp. hondum 31''^; ap. honda86^; 

ip. hondum 46'*, 55''. 
hoiidAveorc, n., handiwork: as. 21'; 

np. (MS. -)\veorc) 6^. 
hond-\vyrm, m., itch-mite : ns. 41''', 67-. 
hongian, Wa, hang: i sg. hongige 15^1 ; 

3 sg. hongah 22^1, honga'5 45I ; pret. 

3 pi. hongedon 14''. 
hopgehnast, n., dashing of 'wares in a 

bay : gs. hopgehnastes 4-". 
hord, hoard, treas7tre: gs. hordes 91^; 

as. 32-1, 54^^, 93^; gP- horda 12^; ip. 

hordum 84— ; ? hord 84^-. See Avomb- 

hord. 



264 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



hordgeat, n., door to treasitre : gs. hord- 

gates 43". 
horn, m., horn : dp. hormim (MS. 

horna) 30'-^. 
\voti\s,?r\,w., galyle-hall : np. hornsalu 4^. 
hors, n., horse: ns. SROH 26^- \ gs. 

horses 37" ; as. 37^ ; ap. 23I0. 
horse, adj., wise, sagacious, quick-witted: 

nsm. 2^. 
hraed, adj., quick, speedy, rapid: nsm. 

54II ; comp. nsm. hrasdra 41'^^. See 

hre?J. 
hraegl, n., garment: ns. S^, 12^, 14^; 

ds. hraegle ii'^; as. 45*, 55*; is. 

hrasgle 46*, 63^. 
? hraffe, adv., quickly: hr[a]t>e 77". 
hreddan, Wi, recover, rescue: inf. 151^. 

See ahreddan. 
hrefau, see gehrefan. 
hreodan, see gehreodan. 
hreoh, adj., rotigh, fierce: nsf. 84'^. 
hreosan, % fall, rush : 3 sg. [hrjeose^ 

81 w. 
hreran, Wl, move, stir, shake: i sg. 

hreru 4^, hrere 2^; 3 sg. hrere'5 81' ; 

opt. pres.(?) pi. hreren 84^^. 
hretf, adj., quick, speedy: comp. nsf. 

hrehre 41''^. ^S"^^ hraed. 
hre<Ser, m., breast, bosom : ds. hre^re 

626, 93". 
hrif, n., womb, belly : ds. hrife iS^, 24^''^ ; 

as. 41*5 ; .? hrif 8451. 
hrim, m., rime, hoar-frost : ns. 41^, 81^. 
hriinigheard, adj., hard ivith frost: 

apm. hrimighearde 93^^. 
hrinan, 1, touch, reach : i sg. hrlne 7*, 

67^ hrino 1 628; ^ ^g. hrineiN 24!'^, 

84*" ; pret. 3 sg. hran 4oi0'20. 
hrindan, 3, push, thrust: pret. 3 sg. 

hrand 55*. 
hring, m. i. ring (paten, chalice): ns. 

498 ; gs. hringes 60I" ; as. 49^, 6oi'^. 

— 2. ring, adorfiment : ?is. hringe 

92^; ap. hringas 21^3; ip. hringum 

7 1 8, 91*. — ^.fetter, chain : ip. hringum 

(MS. hringan) 5-. 



hrisil, f., shuttle: ns. 36^ (so Leid.). 
hroden, see beaghroden. 

hrof, m. I. roof: as. 53^; dp. hrofum 

2". — 2. /('/, sttmmit: as. 16-'', 30". — 

3. sky, heaven : gs. hrofes 28^. 
hror, adj., strong, stout, active : nsm. 55'. 
hruiig, f., rung, beam, pole: ds. hrunge 

23I0. 
hruse, f., earth: ns. 4*>, 73^; ds. hru- 

san 4i55, 8435.46 ; as. hrusan f, 81, 28". 
hrutan, 2, make a noise, whiz : ptc. 

nsf. hrutende {Leid. hrutendi) 36^. 
lirycg, m., back : ds. hrycge 2^-, 46, 20^, 

376; as. 4^5, 22", 8f*, hryc[g] 86^; is. 

hrycge 28^1 ; ip. hrycgum 43^. 
hu, adv., how : i8^ 32I9, 37I4, 4023, 

43IB, 44I5, 56I6, 60I6, 6 1 12, 848. 
hund, num., hundred: 86*. 
hund, m., dog: ns. 252 ; gs. hundes 37" ; 

as. (MS. DNLH = HUND) 752. 
hungor, m., hunger : ns. 443. 
hunig, m., honey: ds. hunige 41^^. 
huts, f., spoil, booty: as. hu^e Tp^''^'^- 
hwa, pron., who ; neut. ivhat, of what 

kind: nsm. 22.14, 3I3, ^35^ 473,74^ 83'; 

nsn. hwaet 4''2^ ^8^ jjii^ j^i9^ 20^, 24^^, 

2726 28^^ 2q12 -?224 -J-'14 -7614 --yS 

4o29, 428, 639, 67I0, 6819, 7329^ 80", 

83I4, 86^ ; asn. hwast 62^; nsn. or asn. 

hwxt 64!'^. See a?g-, gehwa, nat- 

h^v8et. 
hwa?l, m., 7vhale: ns. 4182. 
h\va»lmere, m., sea : ns. 3^. 
hwiUr, adv., where : SS'-s. See nat- 

hwier. 
h^vfvt, adj., stout, bold, brai'c : comp. 

npni. hwastran 272^. See blcdhwaet. 
hwaetfer, see {egh^vaeSer. 
hwieSre, adv., yet, however : hwaej're 

[Il2], 454, 23", 328.9.", 40I8, 538, 395, 

[hwa^hre] 324 ; hwaej^re se J7eah 36II 

{Leid. hudrae suse ^eh). 
hwearft, m., circuit, expanse : ds. 

hwearfte 41 33. 
[hwelp, m., whelp : as. 1 1'^.] See ^v^el- 

hAvelp. 



GLOSSARY 



265 



hweorfan, ;t. i. tu7n, depart: 3 pi. 
hweorfat; 44I- ; inf. 21-'-. — 2. wander, 
roam: 3 sg. hweorfeX 41^; inf. t,'^, 
40^; ptc. asn. hweorfende 57^. See 
hwyrfan. 

hwt'ttan, \Vl, incite, instigate: i sg. 
hwette 12^. 

hwO, f., a while, space of time : a.s. 
hwlle 29^ ; ip. hwililm 3I, 4i.n.36,38.G8,08, 

69,70 r8 y6.7 33 I ,4,6,6,7, 10 j ,-8,4,5,6,8,9. 
11,18,16,17^ 1 87^ 21 S'l^ 252.2.8,3,4,5,6^ 265, 28^, 

50*, 578, 585, 622, 636•^ 64*, 7i5, 737 .•■^, 

8o3.7, 839, 856, 886, gi8, 934,7.8,11, 95I2, 

[hjwilum 93^. 
hwit, adj., 7t'///V^, y<z/>: nsm. 16^; npf. 

hwlte II**; apm. hwlte 41^^. 
h^vltlo^, adj., with fair hair: nsf. 43^. 
hwitloi'i-ed, adj., fair-haired: nsf. 

hwitloccedu 80''. 
hwonan, see ohwonan. 
hAVonne, adv., when, until: i6i°; 

hwonne ser, whenever 32^8. 
hwylc, pron. inter, i . who, 7vhich : nsm. 

2^ 43^^ — 2. pron. ind., any one, each 

one: nsm. 21^'*, 68^'-'; dsm. hwylcum 

24^". See xg-, gehwyU'. 
hwyrfan, Wl, turn, move about: 3 sg. 

hwyrfeS 13^2 ^ee hweorfan, on- 

hwyrfan. 
h^A-j'rft, .rev ymbh^\'yrft. 
h^vyrftAves, m., escape: gs. hwyrft- 

weges 4". 
hycgan, \Vi, think, consider, tneditate : 

ger. hycganne 29^2, hycgenne 2-^^- 
hyd, f., skin, hide : as. 77"; is. hyde 

27>2. 

hygcbirOo, adj., glad at heart: comp. 

npm. hygeblTl>ran 2720. 
hygecrseftig, a.d].,zvise, sagacious, keen 

of wit : nsm. 2^. 
hygefaest, 2t.(l].,fast in mind: asf. hyge- 

faiste 43^''. 
hygogal, adj., lasci'oious, wanton: gsf. 

wk. hygegalan 13I-. 
hygp'ffoii(',m., thought : ip. hygehoncum 

36'' {Leid. higido[n]cum). 



hygc^vionc, adj., prond : nsf. 46^ ; asm. 

hygewloncne 20-. 
hyht, m., joy : ns. 65'*, 95^ ; ds. hyhte 

26^ ; ? hyht 93^. 
hyhtlTc, adj., delightful: nsn. 92^; 

asn. 36I2 (so Leid.). 
liyhtplega, m.. Joyous play, sport: gs. 

hyhtplegan 2\'^^. 
hyldepil, see hildepll. 
hyll, m., hill: gs. hylles 16-^. 
hyran, Wl, (hear), hearken to, obey: 

I sg. hyre 21^4; 3 sg. hyre'5 44^, 

59I3 here^ 51^; inf. hyran 4^*, 52, 

24I5. See gehyran. 
hyrde, m., keeper, guardian, herd: ds. 

72^" ; as. 91^. 
hyred, m., company : ds. hyrede 60^. 
hyrgan, see onhyrgan. 
hyrst, f., ornament, equipment : np. 

hyrste (wings) 8*, 1 1^ ; 1 2}, ip. hyrstum 

1311,3220, 54^ 8815. 
hyrst, m., copse, wood: dp. hyrstum 

416I. 
hyrstan, see gehyrstan. 
hyse, m., hoy, youth : ns. 55I. 



I = rune I: 25^, 65^. 

Ic, pron., /: ns. (271 times); gs. min 27I*, 
36* ; for possessive, see min ; ds. me 
[ 1 12,12], 212,45,16,36.65, 34.10, (gg times); 
as. mec [i"], 22.", 311,13,15, 41,13,13,73.74, 
(90 times); as. me [i^^], 13^^ 2ii8'i^, 
2713, 4134, 48I, 665, 732, 834, S55; nd. 
wit 645, 85^ 88i*'293i ; gd. uncer 8830 ; 
dd. unc 6 1 15, 64IG, 852, 88I8 ; ad. unc 
72-', S5T, 8815.1" ; np. we 37I6, 4 1'''', 426", 
723; for genitive, j^^ user; dp. US [i^.^], 
43I6, 565. 

ides, f ., woman : ns. 622 ; as. idese 76I ; 
gp. idesa 47I 

[leg, ig, f., island: ds. lege 1*, Tge i".] 

in, prep. w. dat. and ace. i. in, on, 
within, among (w. dat.); 6^, 9*', 13I*', 
286, 35I, 38^ 4i^», 426, 44-. 54«-^^ 55'. 
5613, 59", 60II", 832, 95"; after case 



266 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



85''. — 2. into, Jipoii (\v. ace.) : 1 6", 53^, 

561, 6o"'9, 938.0. 
in, adv., in, witliiu : '^'^^■ 
indryhtpii, adj., noble: nsm. 95^; asm. 

indiyhtne 44I. 
inst'tJoiK", ni., thougJtt, mind: n.s. inge- 

I'onc 6ii'\ 
iiinan,adv.,7<;'/M/;/ : iS", 88''''-; in innan 

10'', 29^. 
innanweard, adj., inward, internal: 

asm. iimanweardne {^.vithiii) 93^^. 
innii'iV, m., inside ofhodv, stomach, iLwmb: 

ns. I SO ; ds. innal'e 36- {Leid. innaSa;) ; 

as. 38". 
inne, adv., within, inside : 47'*, 57^. 
insittendc, ptc, sittini^ 'within : gp. in- 

sittendra 47". 
irnan, see riiinan, fipirnan. 
isern, n. i. iron: gs. Isernes 59O. — 

7.. sword, knife: ns. 93^^ ; is. Iserne 6'. 

— Z-goad: ns. 72'*. 
lu ifa, adv., once, formerly, of old : lu l-a 

712. 
i^v, m., lY'Ti': ns. 56O. 



Li — rune |^ : over 18. 

lar, f. ?, gift: [as. ii]; ip. lilcum 50''. 

See ha'niedlao. 
lacan, R. i. Jly,Jloal: piet. 3 sg. leolc 

57**. — 2. fight, strive : i sg. lace 31 '. 

— 2. modulate: inf. 32IO. .S'tvlx'lacan. 
liececynn, n., leech-kin, race of physi- 

cians : as. 6"^. 
laidan, Wl, lead, bring, carry: inf. 30-; 

pp. ISded 29". See geltSdan. 
laf, f. I. leaving {of f re, fie, hammer): 

ns. 71^; np. lafe 6"; ap. lafe 57!'^. — 

2. heritage,. bequest: ap. lafe 91 1"^. 
la<j;ii, m., sea, ttiater : ns. 4^1 ; as. 23^''. 
laguffetSin, m., ruatery embrace: is. lagu- 

fxXme 61^. 
lagiiflod, m., 'water: as. lagoflod 59^-. 
lagusti'r>ain, m., lake of rain, water: 

gp. lagustieama i^'^. 
laud, see loud. 



lang, see loii};-. 

lar, f., teaching, doctrine: ip. larum 

4022. 
livran, Wl, teach, instruct: pret. 3 sg. 

lairde ^x''^. 
larooAV, m., teacher : ns. 68'-^. 
la's, n., the less: as. 10'^. 
l^ssa, adj., less: nsf. ISsse 41^*^, 67^. 
last, m., track, trdce (on last, on laste, 

behind): ds. laste I4>1, 72i''; as. 421 ; 

is. laste 40^; np. lastas 5^2; ap. lastas 

95^1. See s^veart-, AVHlhlst. 
la^t, see iinla>t. 
liT'tan, R. i. let, allo-w: i sg. ISte ^'^\ 

3 sg. ISteS 4^6, 2ii'', 35", 51^"; 3 pl. 

ISta'S 4*''; pret. 3 pl. leton 14I0. — 

2. let go: opt. 3 sg. liete 3^^ See 

forla»tan. 
lattf'ow, m., leader, guide: ns. 3II. 
la'd, adj., ^^'•/•/Vr'w/.f, //(-//(.y)//: [nsm. 1^2]; 

comp. gsn. lajran 6^'^ 
la'(>f;'«'>viiina, m., hated opponent, enemy: 

ds. laiNgewinnum 1620. 
la(](ian, Wa, ini'ite, summon : i sg. laiNige 

i5i«. 
lead, n., lead: gs. leades 41"^. 
leaf, f., leaf: ip. leafiim 571'^ 
lean, see wordlean. 
leaniaii, W'J, re-ward, requite: 3 sg. 

IcanaN 51'*. 
leas, sec ban-, bro'iVor-, lT'<Ve-, liilin-, 

lieafod-, liliifoivl-, inrn^leas. 
lec'gan, \Vl, lay, place: 3 sg. legeti 8o'*; 

pret. 3 sg. legde 4^'*, 21'^''. See bilec- 

San. 
leg, see lig. 

legbysig, see ligbysig. 
lege, see orlege. 

lengan, Wl, lengthen: 3 sg. lenge'5 29^. 
\eoi\,i., folk, people: gp. leodaCSi"; [dp. 

leodum i^]. 
leof, adj., dear, beloved: nsm. 41''*, 8o2; 

nsf. 2i2, 412^^, 842"; comp. nsf. leofre 

946. 
leolit, adj., light, not heavy: comp. nsf. 

leohtre 4i'<', 94^. 



GLOSSARY 



267 



leoht, adj., bright, shitting: dsm. wk. 

Icohtan 41^^; comp. nsf. leohtre 67^. 
leoht, n., light: ns. 94" ; ds. iGohte 281^, 

64". 
ir-olitlic, adj., bright, shittittg: asn. 30^. 
leoiiia, m., tight, spletidor: ds. leoman 

41^-. 
Knisan, sec boleosan. 
.'U'tfor, n., leather: ? le)ne SgS. 
? le'flre, adj., e''il, bad: ? le^re S9'. 
libbaii, W3, live: 3 sg. leofaj) 40-^; pret. 

3 sg. lifde 41 w". See lifgan. 
lie, n., body: as. 66* ; is. lice 1 1°. 
-lie, see gelk*. 
licgaii, 5, lie : 3 sg. ligeS 41''^; inf. 14II, 

15IO. 
licnes, see ge-, onliciics. 
llf, n., life: ds. life gii"; is. life 5i», 59I-. 

See ^voruldlif. 
lifgaii, \V3, live: i sg. lifge 85^; inf. 

40", 4i6<, 42", 681*; ptc. nsm. lif- 

gende 13'*, asf. lifgende 11^, npm. 

lifgende 29". Sec libbaii. 
lift, see lyft. 
lig, xa.., fire, flattie: ds. lege 41"', is. lige 

4", (MS. life) 838. 
llgbysig, adj., busy with fire : ns. leg- 

bysig (a leg bysig ; b l!g bysig) 31^. 
lille, £., lily: ns. 412". 
lini, n., litnb: ns. 5"; as. 402". 
line, f., line, rmo: ds. linan 43^". 
liss, f ., mercy , grace ; Joy : dp.lissum 51^; 

ip. lissum 2725, T,^^^. 
Hst, f., art, skill, craft: is. liste 28''; ip. 

listum 30'''. 
list (least), see metelist. 
113, n., littib : ap. leoj'o 24". 
luJan, 1. 1. go, sail: inf. li|>an 34I; ptc. 

dsm. lil'endum 11^. — 2. gro7v upl: 

pp. liden 34II. 
loe, see ll^vItIoe. 
loea, see briegiiloea. 
loee, m., hair, lock: np. loccas 411"*; 

ap. loccas 41 ^8. See wundenloec. 
loeeed, see h>vitloeeed. 
lof, mn., praise: gs. lofes 2l'^ 



loiid, n. I. dry latid, shore: ds. lande 

23^2^ londe 342. — i.groiitid, earth : ds. 

londe 4I' ■•'•', 57^. — 3. estate: as. 13^*, 

1 4^1. — 4. district, province: gp. londa 

34^1 See eg-, iiiearelond. 
londbiiend, m., cartli-dwcller: gp. lond- 

buendra 95'^ 
long, adj. 1. long {space): asf. lange 

59** ; comp. nsf. lengre 24'. — 2. long 

{time): nsn. 4022; asf. longe 29''. See 

liplong. 
longe, adv., long, a long time: 16"'-*, 41^, 

6813. 
losian, Wa, depart, escape : 3 sg. losa'5 

133; inf. 311. 
lucan, see bi-, onhiean. 
lufe, f., love: gs. lufan 2725. 
lufian, W2, love : 3 pi. lufiah 95". 
\\i«,ty m., Joy, pleasure : as. 72'^ 
Ij-ft, f., air, sky: ns. 4", 8^ ii^, 58I ; 

gs. lyfte 4'^*; ds. lyfte 23I6, 41SI, 52*, 

578, 59I2, 8430, lifte 28*. 
Ij'ftfait, n., air-vessel: as. 30^. 
lyt, adv., little: 61". 
lytel, adj., little, small: nsm. lytel 72^; 

nsm. wk. lytla 41"'^; asn. 59"; apf. lytle 

5SI. See uulytel. 

31 

31 = rune V\ : 2a>. 

ma, n., more: np. I9'*, 61I''; ap. 2721. 

maeeg, m., man: np. majcgas 51". See 

eoredinteeg. 
mSdan, sec geinaidan. 
niieg, f., woman, kinsruoinan : ns. 10^, 

32--^^. 
ina?g, m., kinsman, brother : np. magas 

8S«. 
niagan, PP, may, can, be able : i sg. 

ma;g 3W l619, I9I, 4l62.64.66, 435, 557, 
64IO, 8833; 3 sg. mJEg 328, 4 1 16.20.52.69. 

90, 442, 593, 60I2, 84C.I6?; I pi. magon 
42^; I (?) pi. mag[on] 681^; 3 pi. ma- 
gon 84*2; opt. 2 sg. ma!ge 402^ ; opt. 
3 sg. maege 22, 512, 32^; ])ret. i sg. 
meahte 6II, 93^^; pret. 3 sg. meahte 



268 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



lo^", 30*", 41*^''''; pret. 3 pi. meahtoii 

235. 
maEgbiirg, f.,/;?;////!' : ns. 21-'^ ; as. mSg- 

burge 16^'^. 
mage, f., kius-iVovuDt : n.s. mege lO'', 

miege 84''-; gs. niagan 44'''. 
iiitege, see iiiagc. 
iiia^gen, n. i. mii^lit, sirengt/i, powe?-: 

ns. 842^^; ds. micgene 41''^; as. 54'*, 

83^1 ; is. maegene 28", 84-", masgiie 

24''', 2)-^^- — 2. force, /lost, troop : ns. 

84^'^, macgn 23^^. See holiimicegen. 
maegenrof, adj., 7'ery strong: nsm. 

wk. ni.xgenrofa 38"''. 
iiiH'gonstroiig, adj., strong tit poiver, 

Dtighly : nsm. 87'. 
ma'genrtisc, f., '••iolcnce, force : ds. 

maegenl'isan 28'". 
magoriiic, m., youth, -iVarrior : np. 

niagorincas 23''. 
iiia'gO', f., virgin, maiden : np. masge'S 

51^ gp. macg'Sa 15^, 34«. 
mjel, n., tijue, occasion : gp. mSla 82**. 
iiia^ldan, sec meldan. 
mail, sec iiion. 
ma'iian, Wl. i. relate, tell of: 3 sg. 

mseneS 21I1 ; pret. opt. 3 pi. mcEnden 

61^''. — 2. tiieart, signify : 1 sg. niSne 

62^. See gema'iiaii. 
mandriiic, m., a'il drink, drink of 

death : as. 24^''. 
maniaii, see genianian. 
mitra, sec iiilcel. 
miiTan, Wl, make ktiown, celebrate: 

opt. 3 pi. (sg. form) mjere 27^". 
inaere, ■&.6\., famous, glorious, re>i07vned : 

nsm. 272", 84"; nsm(f). 41'''': gpf. 

mjcrra 84'* ; dpm. mSran 88^**. 
ma'r'du, f., glorious deed: ap. niSrvNa 

7^3"- 
ma^st, see micel. 

iiuriSel, n., assembly : ds. mas'Sle 862. 
ina<yc]iaii, W2, speak : pret. 3 sg. 

nuil>elade 39^. 
iiia'd'in, m., treasure : as. 56'''. 
miv\v,m..sca-iiicw,gull: gs. mSwes 25''. 



meaht, f., might, pmver: ns. 84^2"; gp. 

[meahta] 84II ; ip. meahtum 2^^, 4'5*', 

148, 4i««. 
meahtelice, adv., inightily : comp. 

meahtelTcor 41 ''2. 
meahtig, adj., mighty, pomerful: nsm. 

mearo, f., mark, region: as. 15''. 
mearc'lond, n., rvastedand, sea-coast: ds. 

mearclonde 4'-'''. 
mearcpa^Jf, m., country path : ap. mearc- 

pa^as 72^1. 
medaii, see oiimedan. 
medwi.s, adj., not wise, foolish : dsm. 

medwisum 5"^. 
mf'ge, sec mage, 
meldaii, Wl, declare, announce: inf. 

29I'-; maeldan 19-. 
meldiau, Wa, declare, atmounce : pret. 

1 sg. meldade 72^*'. 
meiigo, f., multitude, croivd : ds. 21 '2; 

as. 84''<. 
morinen, see rtruiK'iiieniieii. 
mco<lu, m., mead: as. 21^-. 
? meodubeiie, f., mead-bench : ds. meodu- 

[bence] 61^. 
meotiid, m.. Creator, Lord: ns. 4^*, 

881" . g>; meotudes 84". 
meo^vle, f., maid, woman : ns. 5^, zG, 

62I. 
mere, m., sea : as. 23''. See liwaelmere. 
meretaroiS, m., sea-waves, surge of the 

sea: ds. merefarobe 61-. 
mereliengest, m., sea-horse, ship : ns. 

merestream, sea-stream, sea : ap. mere- 
streamas 67^. 

mesan, Wl, eat: inf. 41*'-. 

-met, sec gemet. 

[metelist, f., want of food: is. meteliste 
lis.] 

mleel, adj., great, much : nsm. 4''", 87", 
wk. micla 41^^; nsn. 29I-, 3228; asf. 
micle 87I; asn. 38^, 41™; isn. miile 
445.61, (adv.?) 40-*, 41^2.74.80^ [micle] 
4123 ; ip. miclum 40'-; ? micle 84''2; 



GLOSSARY 



269 



conip. nsm. mara 41^2.105; oomp. nsf. 
mare iS*, 67^; comp. asm. maran 40* ; 
sup. iism. mSst 4''^, .■' maest 84'''^. 

iiili'Iaii, .XV ••'('iiiiclaii. 

inicliaii, .mv ;;(>inicliiiii. 

inid, prep. i. w///i {assot:ta/io7/),\v.da.t. 
6«, 1 6«io, 3 1 1, 40-, 4 1°9, 43IO, 47I, 743.4, 
niith /,£/</. 12. — 2. w/'i/i, by means of 
{inainui), w. dat. 6^'^ 27^^ 28*, 31'-, 

3,23, 4,13,14.36,35, 436, 5,7, 35I2, 63G, 

643, 6710; w. inst. 292.2.3. 
mid, adv., with, at same time : 142, 23I*, 

476. 
niiddangeard, m., eart/i : ns. 32^, 33I, 

41*-', 67I ; gs. middangeardes 83^1 ; 

as. 40I9, 4ji2, 6-9, 
middo, f., ///tf middle (in phrase on 

iniddan): ds. middan 33^, middum 

8i5. 
mlddelniht, f., miduight: ip. middel- 

nihtum 91^. 
mldwi.st, f., presence, society : as. 95^. 
milts, f., reverent joy : is. miltse 31^^ 

(A ip. miltsum). 
min, pron., viy. nsm. [i^^], 3II, 4I, 7-5, 

16I, 178, i89, 223.15, 24I, 26*, 2727, 85I, 

8813.23.26, gi9, ()3l,14. nsf. 2l3, 348.10, 

72*, 808.10 ; nsn. 81, III, 12I, 22l.l^ 
831,8821,91!; gsm. mTnes[i9], 466, 738, 
91^; gsf. minre iSL^, i,\*^ ; gsn. mines 
igS 2610 ; dsm. minum 5I.8, 2i2.2e, 
4i95, 57II, 6i2, 716, 8o2; dsf. minre 
281"; dsn. minum, 73"; ? minum 78"-; 
asm. minne 158, 61'', 831'*; asf. mine 
9*, 1 620, ,,1-2, 231, 66*, 73'«8, 8 1 12, 
^320, 938.13. asn. 5311, 226, 268, 663, 
74^, 83", 932"; isf. minre 9II, 15I8, 
4i30; jsn. mine 11^; [vsm. ii3] ; npf. 
mine 8*-^ ii*; npn. 10", 41'!; dpf. 
minum [|i], 16II; apm. mine 1612, 
95'i; ipm. minum 2i2i; ? min 71^, 88*^. 

mislTc, adj., various, diverse: nsn. 
848.66. 

mlsllco, adv., in various ways : 29I2. 

missenlu*, adj., Z'arious, diverse: ipf. 
missenllcum 32I, 33I. 



missenlice, adv., /;/ -rayioiis ways : 6815. 
iitittan, see goiiiittaii. 

iiu'd'aii, 1. I. conceal: inf. mi|.an 83I2. 
— 2. avoid, refrain from: I sg. mi)>e 
9* ; inf. mi|)an 64IO. See bciiirSan. 

mod, n., ?nind, lieart, spirit: [ns. i !•'']; 
gs. modes 28" ; is. mode 1 2^ 84**, 
86- ; ap. j' ; ip. modum 6o2. See 
forhtinod, heaumod. 

modig, adj., brave, high-spirited: npm. 
modge 3 18 A (a monige). 

modor, f., fnother: ns. io2, 349, 84*, 
moddor 422, 8420 ; gs. 4 !■'•'•, nioddor 
44". 

modtfrea, m., torment of mi)id, terror ; 
ns. modhrea 4^0. 

modwlono, adj., haughty : nsf. 26^. 

modwyn, f., heart' s Joy, property: ns. 
(MS. modp*) 91^. 

mon, m., man: ns. [1^.18], 36II, 39^, 
41*", 44I'*, 8436, man 388; gs. monnes 
37I1, 6oi3; ds. men 5I0, menn 29 13; 
as. monn 37*, NOM = mon 20^; vs. 
3I3; np. men 3I, iSH, 40*, 55I1, 95'^, 
menn 681*; gp. monna 4''0, 23I, 61*, 
721^ 77*, 83I2, 9513 ; dp. monnum 192, 
318(7 ((^mongum), 40I2, 4i'*5; ap. men 
13*, 6o2. See rynemon. 

niona, m., moon : ns. 672. 

moiu'ynii, n., tnankind, men : ds. mon- 
cynne y^, 402, 4127. 

mondryhteii, m., lord: ds. mondryhtne 
56I3, [monjdryhtne 59''. 

monig, adj., tnany : npm. monige 66*, 
862, monige 318 « {b modge); gpm. 
monigra 7*; gpf. monigra 84''; gpn. 
monigra 422; dpm. monigum 958, 
mongum 40!^, mongum y^ b {a mon- 
num) ; ipf. monegum 59**, mongum 9I. 

monna, m., tnan : as. monnan 665. 

mor, m., moor, waste land: ap. moras 
72". 

mos, n., /('('(/: ds» mos[e] 783. 

-mot, see n;e.iii<5t. 

motan, anv., may, must: i sg. mot 
4I5.73, ,5.20, 2x27, 838; 3 sg. mot 4020.: 



270 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



3 pi. 41^''^, moton 17^; opt. i sg. 
mote 2i2'-2; opt. 3 sg. mote ^-^'^'i piet. 
I sg. m5ste ^i^si'W. pret. 3 sg. moste 

inotTffe, f., »n>/// : ns. 48^. 
iiiunan, scf •^cniiiiiaii. 
iiiiiiid, JYV lT-(>eiiiiiii<I. 

iiiuudbora, m.., protector, guai-dian: ns. 

inuiidrof, adj., strong of liaiui: nsm. 

873. 
[iniiriian, Wl, mourn, lament : ptc. nsn. 

murnende i'^^\] See beiiiuriiaii. 
mud', m., mouth : ns. 2,3^ ; as. 40I-, 68^, 

77'*, mill' 9'. I8'^ 19'-; is. mul>e 25'', 

64'' ; ip. mu|>um 14**. 
iiinflilf'as, adj., moitthless: nsm. 61^. 
Jiiyltaii, see '•ciiiyltau. 
-iiiyiid, see goiiiyiKl. 
inyrO', see j»eogiid'iiiyrO\ 

N 
N = rune ^ : 20'', 75^. 
iia, adv., ;/(', not: Leid. 13, 37^. 
nabban = ne liabban, W;), luit Jnwe, 

be witliout: pret. 3 sg. nafde t^^t^. 
naca, m., boat, ship : ns. 59^. 
niSfre, adv., nez'er : [i i*], 610, 4o"'20, 72I6, 

88-''o. 
nasan = nc a^an, PP, not luu'e: i sg. 

nah 4'' ; 3 sg. nab 28^*. 
iia'gan, see <;oiia'j>an. 
iia'j;io(lbord, adj., with nailed planks : 

nsm. 59''. 
iifej>-l{i)an, \Vl,2, nail, rivet: pp. asm. 

nffigledne 20^. 
nales, adv., not at all, bv no means : [ 1 1-^], 

27". 
iiaina, m., name : ns. 27-''', noma 24^ ; 

ds. naman 59I'* ; as. naman 56", 60** ; 

ap. naman 43^. 
nan, adj., not one, none: asm. n^nne 

688. 
n^nig, pron., not any, none: nsm. 30^'', 

84''; dsm. nSngum 26'^; asm. nSnigne 

598. 



nard, m., spikenard : gs. nardes 4129. 
iia>s, see bearonfes. 
iia-staii, see gcnu'stan. 

i\ivtiin,\\ \,ajlict, distress : i sg. nSte 7*. 

nath^va'^, adv., (j/eseio (/no), in some 
unknown place, somewhere : 26'', 638. 

nath«'a>t, pron., {nescio quid'), some- 
thing unknown : nom. 62^, 93-'^ ; acc. 

461, 55'- 
ne, adv.. //o/: 31'^, 41^.53^ 6'*,'88, (5iS times): 

ni Leid. 3,5,9. 
ne, conj., nor, neither: 2iii-'\ 23''^ (34 

times); ni Leid. 5,6,8. 
neah, prep. w. dat., near: 4-^, 57^, 61 1; 

comp. (adj. or adv.) near 4''"*. 
iieahbru'ud, m., neighbor: dp. neah- 

bfmdum (MS. -buendum) 26-. 
nearo, adj., luxrrow, strait: asf. nearwe 

16-*; ip. nearwum 53^. 
nearo, f., conjinetnent, durance : ds. 

nearwe ii^, nearowe 54^^; as. 62^, 638. 
nearoji rap, f ., close grasp : ns. 84''. 
nearwiaii, W2, compress, confine : 3 sg. 

nearwaN 26I". See genearwian. 
neb, n., beak, face : ns. 1 1^, 22^, 32^, nebb 

35''; as. nebb 8i''; is. nebbe 91^. See 

saloneb. 
nefa, m., nephew : ns. 47". 
nellaii, see \vil!aii. 
neinnan, \Vi, name: i pi. nemna'S 41'"''; 

3 pi. nemnaiN 25"; imp. pres. 2 pi. 

nemna'N 58*' ; pret. 3 sg. nemde 60'' ; 

inf. 50''. 
neol, adj., prone, low, deep down: nsf. 

22I, 84«. 
neoffan, adv., beneath, from beneath : 

neot>an ii^, 26^, 32-"; nioj'an 62*^. 
nergan, '^\,save: inf. i6^''; ptc. asm. 

nergende 60*. See genergaii. 
ne'iVaii, Wl, venture, dare: 3 sg. nel'e'i? 

26'' ; inf. 54I3. 
niht, f., night: ns. 301-'; as. 40"; ip. 

nihlum 6", 138, S8i«. See niiddel- 

niht. 
niinaii, t, take, draw : ojjt. 3 pi. ni[m;vn] 

Leid. 14. See biniinau. 



GLOSSARY 



271 



iiT75, m., troKhIc, affliction : ds. nihe y*. 
iil'rt'orwfard, adj., Jinvniuard : nsn. 

iu|>er\veard 22I, 32*', 35''^. 
nnysoea'd'a, m., Dtaligiuini enemy: ns. 

ni^'scea|>a iC-*. 
iiitra'as, m., pi. men: gp. niM'a 58*^; dp. 

luluim 27-". 
niwian, see gennvlan. 
no, adv., net, no : y*, 29^^ 2-*'^ '< 4°^' 

93'^ 95'- 
noma, see nania. 

nowiht, n., nothing: ace. 12''. 
nu, adv., now: 15I, 25^ 27l^ 28^, \\^-'^^'^, 
43^°, 548, 56". 6818, 7,3, 738, 774, 83s 

8818.32, 934, 9322.26, 9^7.10. 

nu gen, ad\.,/iirt/ier, yet : 50^. 
nyd,i., Name 0/ rune N: 43*. ^V^haeft- 

nyd. 
iiydaii, Wl, ?/7\f't% press: 3 sg. nydej? 

^63". 
nyde, adv., of necessity: 41-^. 
nym<5e, conj., unless, except: 42", nymhe 

2i22, 241c, 263, 4121, (MS. nympl'e) 66^. 
nyt, f., use: ds. nytte 272', [32^], 358, 

50^, 512, 706. 
nyt, adj., useful: nsm. 33^, 55"; nsf. 262, 

59^; gsf. nyttre 12^; npn. 56II. 
nyttung, see ^viildornyttung. 

O 

O = rune p : lo'^-^''-'^, 25^. 

of, prep. w. dat., of out of from : 31^, 

^7.12.16,47,48, j jClO, 136, , ^15, 1 612, 186, 
22^ 2321, 248-12, 28-'2.3.8, 30*, 362, 41T9, 
5,2, 63T, 73*.5.28, 776, 838, 91IO, 5312,14, 

"•28; ob Leid. 2, 14. 
ofer, prep. A. w. dat., over, aboTe: 2', 

_jl0.U.21.40.48,45, jgS, 6l9, Sl^. — B. W. 

ace. I. Ofer, abofve, upon: 4^2, 7I0, 

83.6, nil, 156,7, 2j8, 235,12,18, 279, 30", 

338, 455, 52', 547, 582, 65i'5, 678.— 
2. throughout: 36", 4121, 42^, 84'*i, 
'8821,9510. — 3. contrary to: 301". 

ofer, m., bank, shore : np. ofras 23". 

ofergongan, anv., come upon (sleep) : 
3 sg. ofergongejj 411*^. 



oferstlgan, ], surmount, rise above: i 

sg. oferstige 67". 
ofersAvicVan, \Vi, overpoiuer, overcome: 

I sg. ofers\vi)je 4i'--'; inf. oferswIJ>an 

4i'-i. 
ofest, f., haste : ds. ofeste 63'' ; ip. 

ofestum 41 11. 
ofgifari, t^, abandon : pret. i sg. [ojfgeaf 

8SII; pret. 3 pi. ofgeafun iqI. 
oft, adv., often : f, &, 72, 17I, i83, 218. 

15,32, 3 1 5, 3,11, 457, 502.7, 5,4, 54IO, 

55II, 5612, 59I1, 621,641, 68i0'i6, 72^.1*, 

773, 7SI, So", 8439.<-, 8810.15, gi.3, c,328, 

95'-- 
oh'W'onan, adv., from anywhere. 36^ 

{Leid. ou[ua]n[a]). 
on, prep. A. w. dat. or instr. i. on, 
upon: [i*.''], 2".12.", 44.6.36, 50, 122, 

I5I-, I44II, 1 62.3.4.25,26, 20*, 225.8.9.10,12, 
261.14 273 '•2I4.2O -^ r8 -37I.6 Ji25,7",102, 

103, 43^ 5I'•^ 59^ 70^ 7212.13, 73I.22, 

SO^.S, 887.22.23.24, 5320, (MS. of) 93I2. — 

2. in, withifi: 4^1, 6", 9'', iqI, lii'3.7, 

I3II, 1 616, ig4, 2X10.13, 231-1.16, 28S 30^, 
323.4,11.17, -.412,13,4,61,81,81,106, 46I, C41.2.5, 

578, 5921, 62I.5, 634, 644.6, 652, 663, 674, 
681, 693, 7313, 743, 806.6, 81 5, 862, 921.4. 
— ^. at, in{manner) : 21 18, 2813, 4123,28. 
85, 61II, 64II, 93I0. — 4. during: 3I2, 
lol, 20T, 21 31, 4 1 87, 446,10, 523. — B. w. 
ace. I. upon, in: 22.11, 3'', 43.21.28,30,35, 

l621, 2ll.26, 226.13, 2->9.20, 242, 26^, 274-10, 

2S16, 3012, 406, 463, 562, 5712, 691, 728, 

73-1, 742.5, 9329__2. into, to: [l2.7], 
40,35, 2 1 14, 622.6, 638, 66*, S76, 9322.— 

3. according to: 394,413, -j-^ ,.^ /^, for, 
as: 392, 513. — C. after or separated 
from case : 4I3, f, 2i29, 635, So*, 88". 

on, adv., on, upon : 87*. 

onbfigan, 2. i. bend: I sg. onbfige 
243. — 2. bend aside, escape: inf. 4I5. 

oucweSan, 5, ansiver, respond: i sg. 
onewej'c 5". 

ond, eonj., and. All occurrences are 
represented in the MS. by the abbre- 
viation. 



272 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



ondfenga, m., receiver : gs. ondfengan 

62". 
ondrtedan, K, /ear: 3 sg. ondrjedej' 

453. 
ondswaru, f., answer, reply : as. ond- 

sware 56^^. 
oiiettaii, Wl, hasten, bestir otteself: 

pret. 3 sg. onette (MS. onette^) 30", 

onnette 55''. 
oiifiiidan, 3, Jind out, discover : 3 sg. 

onfindeS 16'', 28^. 
onga, m., arrow : ns. 24*. 
ongean, prep. w. dat., opposite to, 

against: 77^, 918. 
ongean, adv., opposite : 28^. 
ongietan, 5, per.ceive, understand: opt. 

3 pi. ongietan 49^ ; inf. 60^''. 
onginnan, 3, begin : 1 sg. onginne 18"; 

3 sg. onginneS 2<)^^, 32^; pret. 3 sg. 

ongon 10^, 55^"; pret. 3 pi. ongunnon 

238. 
onhsele, adj., hiddeti: asf. 16''. 
onhebban, 6, raise, exalt: I sg. on- 
line bbe 31". 
onhlTdan, 1, open : imp. 2 sg. onhlid 

onhnigan, l, bend down, bow, incline: 
3 sg. onhnigab 2'^'^b (a onhingaj'). 

onhw^yrfan, Wl. i. turn, cliange:^r&i. 
3 pi. onhwyrfdon 73-. - 2. im>ert: 
pp. onhwyrfeS 24I. 

onhyrgaii, Wl, imitate: i sg. onhyrge 

onlicnes, f ., likeness : as. onllcnesse 

4 1 37. 

onlucan, 2, unlock, open : pret. 3 sg. 
onleac 43^'". 

oninedan, W^X, presume, take ttpon one- 
self: opt. 3 sg. onmede 56^^. 

onoogan, ^Nx, fear: i sg. onoegu na 
(MS. ondegun) Leid. 13. 

n\\s\tt-AX).,b, fear, dread: inf. 162^ 

onsundran, adv., apart, separately : 

72_«. 

ontynan, Wi, open : pret. i sg. ontynde 



onSeon, 1, 3, succeed, prosper, prevail: 

pret. opt. 3 pi. on))ungan 88^1 ; inf. 

on)>eon 64-. 
? oni^nniaii, Wq, S7vell out, exceed 

bounds: inf. on))unian (MS. onrinnan) 

4i<'i. 
onwald, m., power : is. onwalde 4113. 
onwendan, Wi, turn, change : pret. 

3 Pl- 73^- 
openian, see gcopenian. 

or, w., beginning, origin: ns. 84'^; as. 4*^^. 
ord, n. point: ns. 6i^'^-^'^; is. orde 77''; 

ip. ordum 18", (toes) 16^. 
ordstapu, f., prick of spear (goatf) : np. 

ordstacpe J2^''. 
orlege, n., strife, battle: gs. orleges 4^*. 
orlegfrom, adj., strong in battle: asm. 

orlegfromne 21*^. 
orcJonc, mn., understanding, skill, art: 

as. orJ>onc 78^ ; ip. or|>oncum, skill- 

fully, ingeniously, 70^. 
ortfonrbend, f., skillfully contrived 

bond: ip. orJ>oncbendum 43^^. 
orO'oncpiI, n., cunning spear ( = share) : 

ns. or)>oncpil 22^-. 
oSberan, 4, bear forth : pret. 3 sg. oiSbar 

_ 23i«. 

0?fer, pron., other, another : nsm. ol>er 
43^ ; 6J>er . . . ol>er {the one . . . the 
other) 57^; nsf. ol'er 41*''; nsn. oher 
2212; gsn. ohres 7^; dsm. obrum 4'*i, 
2 1 15, 386, 44", 535, 545.10, 846; dsf. 
[ol>erre i''], ol>re 221"; asm. oherne 
2320 ; asf. obre 40''; dpm. obrum 12*, 
92''?; apn. b\>re 50^; ? ober 84'^. 

o?Jforgan, Wl, bear away : inf. o)>fergan 

I A 
o<ySK»t, conj. //;////: oH'ret 4I-, lo'^i'^, 

248, 54*, 729, 732, 93I3. 
0(5?fe, conj., or: 41*', obhe 2i5. 4"3.74, 

82.2^ 4,24,43.67,07,75^ 6l8, 73IO, 956, oS^e 

otRJringan, 3, snatch away : inf. o"5- 

hringaai 8Si«. 
owiht, adv., aught, in any way: 42^. 
oxa, m., ox : ns. 23!^. 



GLOSSARY 



273 



P = rune K : 65*"'. 

-pad, see snlopild. 

pa'<>', see gegii-, mearopfetF. 

pa'OVJan, Wi, treaJ, tiaverse: 3 sg. 

pivheiN 59'^; pret. i sg. pae'Sde 72II. 
peniex, ni., = Lat. per nix, adj., swift 

(mistaken for name of a bird) : ns. 

4 1 •'■'''. 
pil, see hilde-, orO'oiio-, searopH. 
ploga, sec hyhtplofta. 
plogaii, \\\, phiy, sport: inf. i,-^^. 
pyt, see radpyt. 

R 

K = rune 1^ : 20I, 25^. 

rieoan, Wl, reach, extend: i sg. rjece 

67". See gera>can. 
raeced, n., hall, building: ds. raecede 

3 2'' ; as. 53^ ; ap. 2". 
rad, f. I. riding, course: ds. rade 20". 

— 2. name of rune R : 20^. 
rii'd, m., counsel, advice: ns. 16^''; gs. 

rffides 88^. See unrsed. 
riedan, R, read {a riddle), explain : opt. 

3 sg. rxde 6o'5; imp. 2 sg. r5d 62^. 
ra'dolle, f., riddle, enigma : as. rSdellan 

4j • 
radpyt, m., draiv-well with sweep: rad- 

[PYT?] 59H-15. 
radAvfTig, adj., weary of riding, 7ueary 

of journeying: asm. radwerigne 2ii'*. 
ra'piiijj;, m., captive: ap. rSpingas 53I. 
rifraii, Wl, raise: opt. 3 sg. rxre 4^"'; 

pret. 3 sg. rSrde 56®. See arieran. 
TiT'saii, Wl, rush: 3 sg. rxse'6" 26". See 

flu I'll ra'san. 
rOad, adj., red: nsm. wk. reada 27^''; 

gsn. wk. readan 49^; npf. reade 12-. 
rf-aflc, adv., red: 71*. 
rf-af, n., robe, garment: ds. reafe 12-; 

is. reafe 14". 
reafian, \V2, plunder, rob, despoil: i sg. 

reafige 2", 13''*; 3 sg. reafa'S 26^, 

662. 
rvv, m., smohc, reck : np. rccas 2^. 



reccan, Wi, care, reck: w. gen. 3 sg. 

recceS 77''. 
reccan, Wl. i. rule, direct, guide: i sg. 
recce ^i^; inf. 41^5. — 2. explain, 

interpret: imp. sg. rece ^i^'^- 
reccend, m., ruler (God): ns. 41''. 
recene, adv., quickly, straightway: 40^^. 
regn, m., ;•(//,'/ : as. 4-''^ 
regnwyriii, m., earthworm : ns. 41''*. 
-ren, see gcren. 
[rcnig, adj., rainy: nsn. i^".] 
reod, adj., red: asm. reodne 26^. 
reofan, see bireofan. 
reord, f., speech, voice, tone: as. reorde 

255 ; ip. reordum 9I. See gereord. 
[reotig, adj., weeping: nsf. reotugu i^".] 
resele, f., 7-iddle : as. reselan 40^8. 
restan, Wl, rest, rest oneself : i sg. reste 

85S, 952 ; inf. ^^. 
retan, see aretan. 
retfe, adj., fierce, cruel: nsm. re^e 2^, 

842; gsm. re|>es 16^^. 
rib, n., ;■/■/' : gp. ribba 2)3^. 
rice, adj., rich, powerful: nsm. 41 3; gsm. 

rices 7ii; npm. t^'^'^; dpm. rlcum 952. 
rice, n., authority, master : is. s,^^. 
ricel.s, n., incettse: ns. 412*. 
ridan, I, ride: i sg. ride 80^; 3 sg. rlde'S 

4'^i 59''; pret. i sg. rad 93^-; inf. 482^ 

232. 
riht, see ryht. 
rim, see da^g-, iinriin. 
rinc, m., man: ns. 63^ 64^^, 742 ; dp. 

rincum43''; ap. rincas 15I6. Seefyrii-, 

gum-, iiiagorinc. 
riiinan, .T, run : inf. (MS. yrnan) 85^. 
risaii, see arisan. 
rod, f., cross: gs. rode 56^. 
rodor, m., heavens, sky: gp. rodera CqI'^, 

rodra 14'''; dp. roderum 56^. 
rof, adj., strong: asm. rofne 20"; npf. 

rofe (MS. rope) 58^. See ellcn-, 

maegen-, mundrof. 
rose, f., rose: ns. 4i2''. 
ruh, adj., rough, hairy: nsm. 26^; gsn. 

ruwes 62^. 



274 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



rum, see gerum. 
run, see lieteruu. 
runstfef, m., runic letter: np. runstafas 

59i'5 . ap. runstafas 43^. 
-ryde, see geryde. 
ryht,adj. i, straight, direit: asm.rihtne 

63*. — 2. right, true: isn. i^hte 51"; 

npm. ryhte 59^^ 
ryht, n., right: as. 41-^; is. ryhte \\^^. 

See geryht. 
ryniau, Wl, clear (?<;wi'), open: 3 sg. 

rymeS 54I0. See geryiiian. 
rync, m., course: as. 84-. 
ryiie, n., mystery, 7nysterious saying : 

as. 49*'. 
rynegiest, m., rain-foe : gs. rynegiestes 

45^. 
ryiieuion, m., one skilled in mysteries : 

ap. rynemenn 43^''^. 
ryiiestrong, adj., strong in course : nsm. 

26'. 

S 

S = rune H : before and after 7, 20^, 65^. 
ste, mf., sea, ocean: ns. 4-'', 77^; gs. 

or ap. sEs 67'^ 
saean, 6, fight, contend: i sg. saecce 

I?"; 3 P^- saca'5 68^'^. 
\ sacu, £., strife, battle: gs. saecce 4-^; 

ds. sace 21^; as. sascce 88-^. 
sagol, m., rod, staff: as. sag[ol] Si^. 
s^grund, m., depth of sea, hottotn of 

sea : ap. sSgrundas -^^. 
sael, n., hall: gs. sales 53-. See burg-, 

folc-, hornssel. 
sivl, m., time, opportunity : gs. sSles 

J- • 

sSlan, see tosa'Ian. 

sSled, see searosteled. 

sSllg, see geste lig. 

salo, adj., dark, dusky: nsm. SqIi. 

saloneb, adj., darkfaced : nsm. 50''. 

salopad, adj., dark-coated : npf. salo- 

pade 58^. 
SfelAvong, m., fertile plain : ds. siel- 

wonge 42 ; as. 20^. 
sfcne, adj., slow, sluggish : nsf. 34^. 



sang, see song. 

sar, adj., sore: comp. nsf. sarre 14^. 
sare, adv., sorely : 72!°. 
sa\van, R, soiu : 3 sg. sa\ve|> 22^. 
sai'weall, m., sea-wall, shore : ds. sie- 

wealle 61^. 
sawel, f ., soul : gs. sawle 88'^° ; as. 

sawle 40^'^. 
sceacan, 6, shake, depart, fiy : pret. 3 sg. 

scoc 93I1 ; inf. 21". 
-sceaft, see ge-, iin-, Avonsceaft. 
sceani, m., white horse: ap. sceamas 

scearp, adj., sharp : nsm. 4''i, 63^ ; asm. 

[scjearpne 93-' ; npf. scearpe 34'' ; apf. 

70'* ; ipn. scearpum 4^- ; sup. isn. 

scearpestan 29'^. See heoruscearp. 
sceat, m. i.regioti, part (of earth): as. 

42^ ; gp. sceata 88-'^ ; ap. sceatas 681^. 

— 2. lap, bosom : ds. sceate 10", 452. 
si'Pax^a, see feond-, ni?Jscea(Ta. 
scea^ven<I^vise, f., song of jesters: ap. 

sceawendwisan 9^. 
seeaAvian, Wa, look at, behold : i sg. 

sceawige 41'*''; inf. 60-. 
scelfan, 4, shake, q7ti7;er : 3 sg. scelfae'5 

Peid. 7 (scrTN« 36^). 
sceop, see iefonsceop. 
sccor, m., cloud: ns. (MS. sceo) 4''i. 

See sciir. 
sceorp, see fyrd-, hleosceorp. 
sceotan, 2, spring, rush : inf. 39'*. 
seeran, 1, cut, shear : 3 sg. scirefi 66-^. 
sceOflan, 6, ////;■/, injure: i sg. scehl^e 

26'-; 3 sg. sce'Se'Ji 44^^; pret. i sg. 

scod 211*^; pret. 3 sg. scod 72^*; inf. 

^c\\*\;\i\,\^\, shield, protect : pret. 3 pi. 

scildon 88^'. 
scin, n., specter, phantom : np. 4^-. 
sc'inan, I, shine: inf. ^i^^''^. See be- 

scinaii. 
scip, n., ship : ns. 59*. 
scir, adj., bright, clear : nsm. 73-" ; asm. 

scirne 59'*; npf. scire 12-; apm. scire 

Z9^- 



GLOSSARY 



275 



ficircnl';*' ((scicrnicsc)' ^■< >"""<-'^ 
female jester : ns. 9". 

sootian, Wa, s/zocf : 3 pi. scotiafi 4^^. 

scra'f, see wraflstTjel'. 

srri'd'aii, l, t/tove, glide, stalk: 3 sg. 
sciiheJS 36^ (Z«V/. scelfaeiS) ; ptc. npn. 
scn|>ende 4'''-. 

scfifaii, see ascfifan. 

sculaii, anv., shall, »iust, have to: i sg. 
sceal 4n.34.G5.68, 5I, 1^9,14.17, i6i2", 
17I.7, 2r-».30, 318, 4i9i, 64I, 71^ 831^ 
88-*, gi*. 95^'^; 3 sg. sceal 2S11, T^f, 
34^-. 36*, 385, 4o8.ic.-;i, ^38, 440, 855, 
882T ; .? sceal 826 ; 3 pi. sculon 8Si» ; 
opt. 3 sg. scyle 4^^ ; pret. i sg. sceolde 
6j8.14 . pret. 3 sg. sceolde 62*, 73*^, 93" ; 
pret. 3 pi. sceoldon 14*'. 

scur, m., s/iower, storm : dp. scurum 
881'^. See sceor. 

soyldni, see spscyldru. 

scyppan, C, create, destine, prepare : 
pret. 3 sg. scop 85-; pp. sceapen 21^, 
242. See gescyppan. 

scyppend, m., creator (God) : ns. 4ii>ioi. 

soyrian, see boscyriaii. 

se, sf'o, "Sivt. I. dem. pion., def. art., 
t/ie, this, that: nsm. se [i"], 4^9, iG-S 
173, 246, 27!^ 36I (so Leid:), 4ii.2i.5't. 

68.-4.92.96, 4,9, 442.3.8,15,16, 4^4, 458, 49B, 

304.10, 3411.11, 369,10.16, 375, -o2, 8 1 9, 

8810 ; nsf. seo lo^, 29I3, 3219, 34I2, 395, 
4oi-", 42^, slo 2x20, -i^f^^^ 6i6'i2, 8420, 
[sio] 32^4 ; nsn. hset [i^], 5", 16^^ 2&-^, 
379, 4o2-«, 422.', 44", 48I, 61I0, 84II.32; 
gsm. haes 12", 2x28, 56^ 60^1, 62''; gsf. 
hSre 30", 37I* ; gsn. bass 4"^, 78,9, j jS, 

1-4,5, 2X35, 24IO, 34IO, 4 1 72, 423.3.4.4,7, 

434.11, 3310, 6o9, 656, 9x9; dsxn. ham 
2x23, 30*, 38^ 44^; d.sf. hEre 30^ 57^, 
60^2, 734 . dsn. j,ain 4", 3o-', 88=^ ; asm. 
)>one 2X'', 24I3, 25*, 93^3; asf. }>a 430, 30^, 
38^ 39I, 43^3, 6q1, Q3I8 . asn. J>aet [x^^j, 

22, 485. 57, 178, ,86, 245.*, 289, 332, 435, 
463, 482, 308, 6816, 729; is. J,y IqW.", 

\±^'^, xS*, 208, 27i9.19.20.20.21.21, 292.2.3, 
4o9, 486, 64l^ 8S".i5, )>on [1I2], 4x16; 



np. 



:7' 



42', 43' 



; gp- para 



43^ 47", 53^, 66^, 84*1^.^'' ; dp. bam 172, 
50*, 579, 7328 ; ap. )>a 2I5, 82, 23!'^, 35<'. 
'', 'Sa 4*3. ip_ j,am 48''. — 2. rel. pron., 
7i>ho, which: nsm. se 4I3, 2X^.29, 24^, 
411.3,22.90, 302,5615,635,835,8828; nsf. 
seo 308, 352, 372, 336, 6819, gjQ 325, 
4x81; nsn. baet 22I5, 34I0, 4132.69, 3612, 
6i5, 7326, gi3,G, fj324 ; gsm. J'tES (attrac- 
tion) 565 ; dsm. bam 442 ; asm. bone 
4i"3, 5i3; asn. bast 249, 45"; bast = 
double relative, ' id quod,' 2I2, 4-56.65, 
17", 18II, 24", 50W, 55", 806; np. ba 
2723. 582, 733; gp. bara 5915, 726; ap. 
ba 7', 50^. See se ?fe, iJaes, Sees' Se. 

sealt, n., salt : ns. 94^. 

searo, n. i. art, skill: ip. searwum 
{skillfully, cit7i7jingly)T,o'^, 57^, S4'*8. — 
2. 7vork of art: as. 333. 

searobunden,adj., ctinningly fastened: 
asn. 56*. 

searoceap, m., curious thing, 'work of 
art: ns. 33". 

searocraeftig, adj., cunning, 7oi/v : nsf. 

34^ 
searolic, adj., ingenious, wonderful: 

nsm. 61II. 
searopil, n., dart clcT'erly made: gp. 

searopTla 912. 
searosailed, adj., cunningly bound : nsf. 

24I6. 

searo?Jonc, m., cunning thought, skillful 
device : ip. searoboncum 3613. 

searo(Joncol,adj., sagacious, wise: npm. 
searoboncle 419". 

seaAV, n., Juice, sap: ap. 4'*'. 

seax, n., knife: gs. seaxes 27^ 61I2, 
77^ is. seaxe 4x97. 

secan, Wl. i. seek, look for : 3 sg. 
seceb i625, sece'5 355, se[ce^"] 883*; 
3 pi. seca'5 9512; pret. 3 sg. s5hte 
935 ; inf. 939. — 2. visit, goto: inf. 32, 
X72, 2SII. See geseoan. 

secg, m., man : ns. 55, 639 ; npm. sec- 
gas 4x9''; gpm. secga (MS. secgan) 
64I ; dpm. secgum 49*. See garsccg. 



276 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



secgan, W3, say, tell, declare : 3 pi. secga'S 
40^'^^ ; opt. 3 sg. secge 68^^ ; imp. 2 sg. 
saga 2^*, 3^^, 4'^'-^, 9^, 11^^ 13^^, 20^, 
24i«, 3613, 378, 40-9, bf, 6710, 7329, 
So", 831'*, 86''; pret. 3 sg. saegde 34^; 
inf. 43*', 568'^^ ; ger. secganne 40-^. 
See gesecgan. 

sefa, m., fniinl: ds. sefan 61 ". 

segnbercnd, m., stanJard-bearei', war- 
rior : gp. segnberendra 41-''. 

selda, see geselda. 

[seldcynie, m., rare visit : np. seldcymas 
I".] 

sele, m., /lall, house : ns. 85^ ; gs. seles 
14*; ds. 2 1 10. 

seledream, m., jov in hall: ds. sele- 
dreame 64I. 

sellan, see syllan. 

sellic, adj ., strange, ivonderfiil, excellent : 
nsf. 84^8, sellTcu 33^ ; asn. 32^, 338. 

sSlra, adj., comp. and sup. only, better : 
comp. apm. sellan 13*; sup. gsn. wk. 
selestan 42''. 

Bemningii, adv., steddenfy : 41^". 

seiidaii, Wl, send: 3 sg. sende^ 4-, 
50'^; 3 pi. sendacS 31^; pp. sended 

[seoc, adj., sich : asf. seoce i^*.] 
seolfor, n., silver: gs. seolfres 56*; is. 

seolf re 2 1 ^'^, 68^'' ; is. sylf re i 5-. 
seolhba»<T, n., seaTs bath, sea: ap. 

seolhba[>o 1 1^^. 
seoniian, Wa, rest, lie : 3 sg. seoma'S 

2i-i. 
seoii, 5, see, behold: 1 sg. seo 6''; opt. 

I sg. sy (w. gen.) 41^^; pret. i sg. 

seah 14I, 20I, 323, 333, 43I, 52>, 53I, 

54I, 56I, 60I, 65^ 87I; pret. opt. 3 .sg. 

sawe 8431. See geseon. 
settan, Wl, place, set: pret. 3 sg. sette 

27*, 41'^. See a-, gesettan. 
se i5e, pron., 7vho, which : nsm. se he 3^^ 

28«, 395, 4l93,96^ 44U 6o5.15, 6818, 7 ,G^ 

7328, 8i^ 883*, 9327; se be = bone be 
44-'^ ; nsf. seo be 261" ; gsm. ba;s ... be 
4I''; gsn. b^L'S be 32I'''', 33I2, 42^; dsm. 



bam be i6-^ 61^^ 70I ; np. ba be 35". 
36W (^Leid. %z. tii) ; gp. bara be 4'^-'^8, 
612, 299, 40I5.26, 4189, giio. dp. bam be 

^4^^ 27^ 43'- 
se iSf'ah = swa d'eah, adv., however, 

itevertlielcss, yet : 5*, 87^ ; hwfejjre se 

peah [Leid. hudra; suje ^eh) 36I1.; 

efue se peah 40-^, 66I. See swa Seah, 

s^va tfeana. 
se Tfeana, conj., yet, nevertheless: se 

beana 88i°. See swa Seana. 
sib, see gesib, ungesib. 
sid, adj., 2vide, spacious: apm. side 3!", 

67 10. 
side, f., side: ns. 14^; ds. sidan 776; 

as. sidan 22^3, 702; ap. sIdan 8i^ 86'^; 

np. sidan 16^, 73I8. 
siex, num. adj., six : 25!"^, 378, (MS. vi) 

142. 
sigefaest, adj., victorious: comp. npm. 

sigefaestran 271". 
sigel, see heatJosigel. 
sigor, m., victory, triufiiph : gp. sigora 

-sih<y, see gesihS. 

sin, pron. i. his: dsm. sTnum 60*; 

ism. sine 24I* ; ipm. sinum 91 11, 932. 

— 2. her: dsm. sInum 59^* ; apm. 

sine 3222; ipf_ sinum 62^. 
sine, n., treasure, wealth : ns. 49* ; as. 

2 1^, 56'* ; is. since 2ii'^, 6SI8. 
sincan, see besincan. 
sincfsig, adj., shining with treasure: 

nsm. 15I'''. 
sindor, m., impurity: ip. sindrum 27*'. 
singan, 3, sing: i sg. singe 92; 3 sg. 

singeS 702; 3 pi. singa'5 88; inf. 323. 
sittan, 5, sit: i sg. sitte 25"; 3 sg. 

siteX 45, 3212 ; 3 pi. sitta'S (MS. siteS) 

98; [pret. I sg. sxt jio] ; pret. 3 sg. 

sa;t 47I ; pret. 3 pi. sseton 86^ ; inf. 

76I. See ge-, oiisittan. 
sittende, see burg-, insitteiide. 
si'ff, adv., afterwards: 61 8. 
s\S,m., Journey, course, loanderiiig: as. 

22, 301"*, sib 853 ; is. sibe 53' ; gp. siba 



GLOSSARY 



277 



3'-: ap. sihas 10", 40''''; ip. sij'um 
2y^. See for<J-, gc-, here-, unrS'dsid'. 

BTSfaet, m., journey, course : ns. slK^et 

20^; ds. srSfiete 44*5; as. 83". 
8i9iau, '^'2, go, journey, travel: pret. i 

sg. sij>ade 72^''; pret. 3 sg. slj>ade 

27^1 ; inf. slHan 52^. 
BiifSfi., journey : ds. sIJ>J'e 65"^. 
sidiSan, conj., since, after: sij^^an 12^, 

16-'", 24«, 77C, 832; [si]H.an(adv. ?) 

64". 
si<9i9an, adv., afterwards: si^han 10^, 

iiW, i622, 272.5.11, 285, ^oJ3, 41O, 77", 

89', 93^5 J siS^an 62^. 
sixtig, num. adj., sixty: (MS. i.x) 23I. 
sl^p, m., sleep : rvs. 41I0. 
sliepan, R., sleep : opt. pret. i sg. slepe 

4i9. 
slaBp>verig, adj., sleep-weary: asm. 

slSpwerigne 55. 
siege, see deaOslege. 
slitan, 1, tear, rend: i sg. sllte 13^; 3 

pi. slltaS 88*2; inf. 148. ptc. npm. 

slitende 17''. ^<f^ toslitan. 
slItTe, adj., dire, hard, dangerous: gsf. 

slike 4-». 
Blfipan, 2, slip, glide : inf. 43^. 
.sinH>I, adj., slender: nsm. 73I8. 
smeah, adj., Jrti^//^? : comp. nsf. smeare 

945. 
snii'd, m., smith : ? smi)' 94I ; gp. smij'a 

6^ 21", z-]'^''. 
snsegl, m., snail: ns. 41"". 
sna\v, m., snmu: ns. 81^". 
snel, adj., quick, swift: comp. nsm. 

snelra 41"''. 
snrflian, 1, cut: pret. 3 sg. snaS 27^. 
snottor, adj ., wise, sagacious : nsm. 

84** ; npm. snottre 862, ^^7. 
snyttro, i., prudence, loisdotn : snytt[ro] 

68^. 
snycTian, Wa, hasten, go as a dog with 

nose to ground (S\v., H.-T.) : i sg. 

snyl'ige 22''. 
sn.vJTffaii, see besnyCflan. 
soden, sec iiiisoden. 



-som, see gesom. 

some, adv. (always in combination, 
8\va some, likewise, as well) : i6\ 

43"- 
somne, see tosomne. 
somnian, see gesomnian. 

somod, adv., together, in cotnpany : 2^*, 
172, 23^, 61^^; samed 522; [somod] 
20^. 

iionHy a.A.\., soon, imtnediafely : 17'', 26^, 
28-.9, 64IS. 

sond, n. i. sand: ds. sonde 2^* ; is. 
sonde 3'. — 2. shore: ds. sonde 61^. 

sond, £., fnessage: ns. 92'^ 

song, m., song: ns. 256; gs. sanges 58''. 

so'ff, adj., true, sooth : nsm. 4^, y^ ; nsn. 
4025 ; gpm. soKa 2722; ipn. sofjum 
_4o23. 

803, n., sooth, truth : as. y]^^. 

SoScwide, m., true saying: ip. s65- 
cwidum 36^^. 

socTe, adv., truly, correctly : [s6|)e] 732^. 

sp^etan, Wj, spit: i sg. spiete 18*, 24*. 

sped, f., success, prosperity: ns. iS*; 
as. 88**, [sp]ed 84"; on sped, suc- 
cessfully 5^2. ^gg fritSosped. 

speddropa, m., useful drop : ip. sped- 
dropum 27*^. 

spel, n., answer, solution : as. 5I2. 

spere, n. spear: as. SP[ere] 65^. See 
attor-, <leaffspere. 

sperebroga, m., terror of spears : as. 
sperebrogan iS'*. 

spild, m., destruction : is. spilde 24^. 

spor, n., track, spoor: ds. spore 88^. 

spoAvan, R, succeed: pret. 3 sg. speow 

At- 
spra^o, f., speech : ds. spraece 2813. .5"^^- 

jerendsprtec. 
sprecan, h, speak : i sg. sprece 9^, 

sprice 24^1, 44^**; 3 sg. sprece'5 21""', 

spriceS 291"; 3 pi. spreca"S 95^ ; pret. 

3 sg. sprsec 40^2. j^f. jgi, gjO. 
Psprengan, see geondsprengan. 
spyrian, \V2, make a track, go : pret. 3 

sg. spyrede 27^. 



2/8 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER LOOK 



staef, m., letter: np. stafas z^^^. See 
ar-, run-, ^vl•ohtst^pf. 

stselgiest, m., thievish guest : ns. 48^. 
stall, m., sto/ie, rock: 11s. 4I'''; is. stane 

3'; np. stanas 17-^; ip. stanum S4'*-'. 
standnii, see stoiidaii. 
Stauhli'd, n., rocky cl'Jf'- np. stanhleo)ni 

4-^«. 
stanwoug, m., stony field: ap. stan- 

wongas 93^'^. 
staepe, m., step : ds. 93!". 
-stapu, see ordstapii. 
st»e?J, n., bank, shore : ds. sta^e 4^^ ; ds. 

staeSe 23^^ ; ap. stahu 3". See ^v^eg- 

staeS. 
statfol, m., station, place: ns. stal'ol 26'*, 

71"^ ; ds. sta"5ol[e] 88'' ; as. sta)'ol 48^, 

88-^. See friiin-, AvynnstaSol. 
staOolivong, m., statioji, field occupied: 

ds. stat'olwonge 35*. 
staiO'tfan, Wl, stay (trans.): opt. 3 sg. 

staeSJ'e 4''t. 
steal, see bidsteal. 

stealc, adj., .r/tv/i: npn. 4-''; apn. 3^, 93'^. 
-stealtl, see hagostcald. 
-stealla, see gestealla. 
steap, adj., high, steep: nsm. 71^; asm. 

steapne 16^^, Si'*; npm. steape 4!". 
steapheah, adj., 7'ery high: nsm. 26*. 
stede, m., place, station: as. 45-1 See 

folc-, Avlcstede. 
stefn, f., 7'('/Vf: as. stefne 25I; is. stefne 

stclaii, see be-, bi-, forstelan. 
stellan, see anstellan. 

stenc, m., odor, fragrance : ds. stence 

4l23; as. 4l29. 

steort, m., tail: ns. 178 ; ds. steorte 22'*; 

as. 59", 81-. 
stepan, Wi, exalt: 3 sg. stepe'S 51^. 
steppan, 6, step, go: i sg. steppe 16^; 

3 sg. ^teppe'S 9329 ; pret. 3 sg. stop 

27!'^ 55^, 745 ; pret. 3 pi. stopan 231^. 
stician, Wa, stick, thrust: 3 sg. sticah 

13I1, sticaS 91^; pret. 3 sg. sticade 62^. 
Stig, f., way, path; as. stige i62*. 



stigaii, 1, climb, ascend : i sg. stige 4™; 

3 pi. stigaS 2*' ; inf. 23^^, 93". See a-, 

oferstigan. 
stillan, see gestlllan. 
stille, adj., still, quiet: nsm. i^^, 17*; 

nsf. 4W ; npm. 31'*. 
stille, adv., quietly, tranquilly: i\^, 9", 

35^. See unstille. 
stiiican, 3. i. spring, leap: pret. 3 sg. 

stone 3oi2_ — 2. stink : 3 pi. stinceh' 

4i«2. 
stiS, adj., stifif, hard, strong: nsm. 71^; 

nsn. sti)' 45-'; gsn. stl)>es 555; asm. 

stD'ne 17^; asn. stT5 93-9. 
stiSecg, adj., sharp-edged: nsn. 931". 
stiSvveg, m., hard wav, stornipath : as. 

4-35. 
stnvita, m., officer of household, steward : 

dp. stiwitum, household 41*^. 
stol, see eSel-, gleowstol. 
stondan, 6, stand: i sg. stonde 26*, 88^2, 

932*; 3 sg. stonde)> 41^^, stonde'S 95* ; 

3 pi. standa'5 i6'^; opt. 3 sg. stonde 

70^; pret. I sg. stod 8S12, [st]6d 88^; 

pret. 3 sg. stod 57^; pret. i pi. st5dan 

SS»; inf. 34I3, 358^ ^^2^ S825, standan 

50I; ptc. dsf. stondendre 558, asm. 

(uninfl.) stondende 81^. See for- 

stondaii. 
storm, m., storm, tempest: ip. stormum 

84*^1 
strjel, f., arrotu : ap. strsle 4'''''. 
Strang, see strong, 
strtet, f., street, road: as. striete 16^*. 
&tre-Am,m., stream, fiood: gs. streames 

27!'^; np. streamas t,^-^*, 23^, Si^; ap. 

streamas [4^^]. 4"°, [strejamas 93^. 

See lirgen-, lagu-, nierestream. 
streamgeAvin, n., strife of waters : gs. 

streamgewinnes 42^. 
strengu, f., stre7igth, po"wer: ns. 8^ ; is. 

strengo 28^^. See ■woruldstrengu. 
-streon, see gestreon. 
stre?fan, see bestreiTan. 
strong, adj., strong, powerful: nsm. 2^, 

435, 174, 28", 559, 63I, 93IO; gsm. wk. 



GLOSSARY 



279 



strangan 48^; dsn.wk. strongan 41™; 
asm. strongne 84-; npni. stronge 
23" ; ipn. strongum 49'^ ; comp. nsm. 
strengra 4i^''^, 85* ; comp. nsf. strengre 
4 1 ^". Sde forstrang, maegen-, ryue- 
strong. 

.sti-ri<laii, 'J, pluiuicr: piet. 3 pi. stiuclon 
54W. 

-stun, see gostun. 

stiind, f., hour, time : as. stunde 93I8 ; 
gp. stunda 55^; ip. stundum, exceed- 
ingly 2''; eagerly, fiercely, ■f. 

stu9u, see AvretfstuJfu. 

%ty\e^v\.., steel: ns. 93I**; ds. 41"^; Pstyle 

94-'. 
styraii,\Vl. \. guide, direct: 3sg.styie5 

41^-'. — 2. clieck,pr event, restr am: i sg. 

styre 12''. 
styrgan, W2, trans, stir, move : i sg. 

styrge 3^, 4"'' ; inf. 4^^. 
styrinan, Wl, cry: i sg. styrme 9". 
sue, see swa. 
sum, pron., some, one, a certain one : nsm. 

4'^-', 27I, 73-•^ 7J*\ nsf. 15^; gsm. sumes 

1515,48''; asm. sumne4*; asn.80^; npf. 

sume 11^. 
suinor, m., sniuvier: ?siimor 88^. 
siiiiiscikI, ptc, /nimining, rus/iing : apn. 

sumsendu 4'*". 
suiid, see gosund. 
siiiid, m., sea, water: ds. sunde ii-^. 
suiidhelin, m., 7uater-co7'ering: ns. 77I; 

ds. sundhelme 3I0. 
sundor, adv., severally, each by himself: 

4o5. 
sundorcrseft, m., special power: as. 

40^'. 
siindran, see onsundran. 
siiiiiir, f., sun: ns. 67^ 93*^i 94* I as. 

sunnan 27*. 
sunu, m., son: ns. 41^-, 84^"; as. 38^; 

np. suno 47--^; gp. suna iqI'^. 
suffernc, adj., southern: nsm. sujieine 

63«. 
8Wa, conj. I. as, according as : 31,4^'^, 

10", 21-'', 22^, 236, 25!^ 34II, ^1.5^ 4^8^ 



60", 62*, 78'' ?. — 2. just as, like : (f, 

4 1 34, swe 16^; z^^a:'-:^. — 3. so that 

(result) : di^^. — 4. although : -*, 2318. 

— 5. where : 88*1. — 6. s^va . • . swa, 

as . . . as (adv. and conj.) : sue (sue 

arlice for MS. snearllce) . . . swa lo^. 

See s\va 'd'eiili, swa Seana. 
swa, adv., thus, so: 4^", iqII, I2^ 14*', 

28I6, 306, 4ii't, [4i25], 4169, 5o9, 7o5, 

84'^-, 88^. See some (swa some), 
swapan, see asAvapaii. 
-SAvaru, see onds\varu. 
s%>'tes, adj., o'wn, dear : npf. swase 47^ ; 

gpm. swiesra lo^^, 27--; apm. swsese 

i&^ 726. 
swiesende, vs.. , food, repast: dp. swie- 

sendum 89^. 
s\\-a;tan, \Vi, sweat: 3 pi. swseta'S 4'*'5. 
s\va^3, n., track: ns. 221"^; as. 22^; np. 

swal'u 52''. 
sw^a Seah, conj., jjv?, ^levertheless : swa 

))eah 59II. See se Seah. 
sAva Seaiia, conj., yet, )ievertheless : swa 

)>eana 591-'. See se Seana. 
swaSu, f. I. track: as. swaj>e 95^2. — 

2. on SAvaJ^e, behind: ds. 16^, 75I. 
SAve, see swa. 
s^vea^t, adj., swart, black: nsm. 50^; 

nsn. 22!", wk. swearte 41^^; dsm. 

sweartum 72IO; asm. sweartne 131-' ; 

isf. sweartan 4i^''; npm. swearte 52-; 

npf. swearte 58-^; apm. swearte 13'* ; 

apn. 4'*'^ ; ipn. sweartum iS" ; sup. gsn. 

wk. sweartestan 42^. 
sweartlast, adj., leaving a black track: 

nsf. 27". 
sweg, m., noise, sound: gp. swega 43^. 
swelgan, 3, s-wallow : i sg. swelge 93-- ; 

3 sg. swelge)> 59I'', swilge'S 50-, 82-^ ; 

pret. 3 sg. swealg 27^, 48*'; inf. 15I5, 

1 8^. See forswelgan. 
sweora, m., neck : ns. 70-, swiora t^^ ; 

as. sweoran 86^. 
sweord, m., sword : as. ^(r>^^. 
sweorfan, :i, polish : pp. sworfen 29*, 



28o 



KIDDLl'.S OF THE KXK'IKK HOOK 



sweostor, f., sister: ns. 72'; gs. 44'''; 

np. 14'^. See gesweostor. 
HWeotol, adj., manifest, dear, open: 

nsf. 40-'; nsn. 22'"; npii. 14''. 
KvvtMitiile, adv., clearly, openly: 25"'. 
swcutiiliaii, see f?<'svveotiillan. 
swCte, adj., sweet: comp. iism. .swctra 

4 1 lis. 
swetnes, f ., sweetness : is. swctnesse 4 1 '"^. 
svvTcan, see geswican. 
swifaii, 1, move, pass, sweep (intr.) : 3 

sg. .swifeJS i^i*"; inf. 33''. 
swift, adj., swift, fleet: nsm. 4''^, 16^, 

52", wk. swifta 4 i''" ; asm. swiftne 20''', 

75'; c(>ni]i. iisiii. swiftra4i™; comp. 

nsf. swiftre 67'', 85''. 
swigc, adj., silent, still: nsm. 4", 85'. 
swiglan, Wa, to be quiet, silent: 3 sg. 

swIgaS 8^ ; pret. i sg. swTgade 72^''; 

ptc. nsm. swTgende 49^ npm. swTgende 

(MS. nigende) c/'. 
Bwliniiian, 3, switn : pret. r sg. sworn 

74''; pret. 3 sg. sworn 23^^. 
swin, n., swine: ns. 4110^. 
Kwiiigore, m., scourger: ns. 28''. 
Bwiiisian, Wa, make melody, make 

music: 3 pi. swinsiaS 8'^. 
swTora, see 8^veora. 
svvi'O', adj. I. strou}:;, potverful : comp. 

nsm. swThra 41''''; comp. npm. swTl>ran 

I 7'' ; sup. nsf. swihost 842**. — 2. comp. 

rii,'lit (liand) : nsf. swit-re 61^'-. 
swrSan, see ofcrswiffaii. 
swrSe, adv. i. very, exceedingly : swihe 

7^, I r^ 52^, 58^. — 2. soon, rapidly: 

swII'C 20", 27'', 33''. — 3. violently; 

swit'C 63*. — 4. eagerly: swil'e 95^-. 

— 5. •~:\\\). chiefly, especially : svvT|>ast 

9/- 
Swi'fllV'onii, adj., strong, -ciiolenl: nsm. 

swil'feorm 4''-. 
Bwogaii, R, make a noise, resound : 3 

pi. swogacN 8''. 
8\vylc', pron., suck, suck a one, suck a 

tking; asf. swylce 898; asn. 61'^; 

gpm. swylcra 20". 



swylce, adv., /;/ like manner, also: 2\\ 

2 5«, 4 r^'J.wi.'J6, 641-', Cs'*. 

swylfc, conj. i. like as, as well as: 

7'*, 84'"; swylce swe iG'*. — [2. just 

as tkougk : i^] 
sylf, pron. i. self, one's own: nsm. 

2f^; sylfa 38", Gf, 80", 85!; gsf. 

sylfre 34*; gsn. sylfes 65"; dsm. 

sylfum 21"; is. sylfum 67!"; npm. 

sylfe 58''. — 2. JjU't sylt'i", tn like 

manner : 5^''. 
sylfor, see seolfor. 
syllaii, Wl, give, grant: i sg. selle 

13''; pret. 3 sg. sealde s*, 62'', 72^; 

inf. 38'\ 
syiriln'l, n., feast: ds. symble 32'-. 
syiiiU', adv., ahvays, ever: 38'', ^i''^'^; 

G8'». 
syii, f., eye, sigkt, vision : as. syne 33'' ; 

is. syne 41''*. 
sync, see gcsyiic. 

T 

tacii, n. I. sign, token: as. 56''. — 2. 

signification : as. tacen 60^''. 
ticciiaii, Wl, sko7v, point out: 3 sg. 

tfficneN 4I*', tScne)' 52". 
tacniaii, see gctitcniaii. 
tan, m., tivig, branck : ip. tanum 54-. 
-ttT'sc, see gcticse. 
tcala, adv., well, rigktly: 22^^, teale 

16"', tila 49'-. 
telg, m., (/i'6': ns. 27I''. .Stv bcaintcly-. 
teon, 2. I. draw : 3 sg. tyhS 63'^ ; pret. 

1 sg. teah 23*'', 72''. — 2. go, proceed: 

3 sg. tyhS 35'*. See ateon. 
tcon, n., Iiurt, annoyance : as. 5r'. 
teorian, W'j, tire, gro7v laeary : pret. 

3 sg. tcorode 55^. 
tid, f., ///nr, kour: as. 4-"', 74-; ip. 

tidiini .)o'-, 59". See dicgtid. 
til, adj. I. good, serviceable: nsm. 18''. 

— 2. excellent, kind: gpm. tilra 27-''. 
tila, see tcala. 
tilfrcninii'iid, part., doing good : gpm. 

tillfremmendra 60''. 



GLOSSARY 



281 



t\Uu',adi.,_<^0(yt/,fa/>af)/g: nsm. 55^, 64''. 

tiiiibrun, Wl, build: pp. timbred 84'". 
See atinibraii. 

to, prep. w. dat. i. to, unto, tozoards, 
into, upon: [i^"], 4I8, i^*-^', 16^°, si", 
2321^', 28^ 2C,\ 30*.9.12, 3,7, 342, 354, 
40''*', 41'^ 56^, 60^'', 69^. — 2. as, for 
{/'ur/'ose): 7-, 272", 40^^, 4165, 425, 
^o».w ^,2^ 706, 73", 78-', 83«. — 3. on, 
at, among: [i^-], 13", 41^''. — 4. of, 
from : 49*. — 5. w. ger. 29I-, 32-^ 37^^, 
4022.25, 4,8, 8829. 

t6,adv. I. too: 23^34^ — 2. t/tit/ter: ^c^-. 

toberstaii, 3, iurst to pieces : 3 sg. 
tobirsteJS 39". 

tOgcPdre, adv., together : 53''. 

togongan, anv., pass away (impers. w. 
gen.) : 3 sg. togongeS 24I0. 

torht, adj., bright, splendid, glorious: 
nsm., 51^, wk. torhta43^; asm. torhtne 
•49'-, 54'-; ipf. \vk. torhtan 57^. See 
hieor-, wlitetorht. 

torlite, adv., clearly: 8**, 60'^. 

tosielan, Wl, impers. i. fail, not suc- 
ceed: 3 sg. tosJelel' 17^. — 2. lack, be 
7i<anting: 3 sg. tosaeleS iG^. 

tosamno, adv., together : 4''^. 

[toslitan, 1, tear astinder, separate, 
sever: 3 sg. toslIteS i^^.] 

to'ff, m., tooth : as. 59^; is. toj^e 87^^; gp. 
tof'a 352; ip. toSum 22^*. 

to iffon, adv. i. so: to \>o\\ 41^^. — [2. 
therefore: to l>on 1I2.] 

toSvxa^iva.f'i, press asunder, drive apart : 
I sg. to|)ringe 4^''. 

tredaii, .'>, tread, tread upon : i sg. trede 
81 ; 3 .sg. trideb842^, triedeiS 13^ ; 3 pi. 
tredaS 58*; pret. 3 sg. trasd 72"; 
inf. 14'. 

treow, n.,/;-cv: ns. 542, 57^. ^V^-wudu- 
t^eo^v, wullhr'alodtreo. 

treo\ve, sec getrCovve. 

tiinge, f., tongue : ns. So** ; ds. tungan 
492 ; as. tungan 59^. 

turf, f., turf, grass, greensward: ds. 
tyrf 4 1 25; as. 14I. 



tAvegen, num. t~i'o: nm. 43^", 472'-''; nf. 

twa 43I", 472 ; n. (m. and f.) tfi 64-'> ; 

nn. tu 16*; gn. twega 40'^, 43"; dm. 

twam 61I0, 88^^; d. (m. and f.) twam 

5i2; dn. twam 47I ; am. 532, (MS. Il) 

86*; af. twa 43I, 70^ Si^, SG^^.' ; an. 

tu 37T. 
twelf, num. adj., twelve: 37^, (MS. xii) 

86*. 
tydraii, Wl, be prolific, teem: 3 sg. 

tydrecS 84'*". 
tyhtaii, see atylitan. 
tyn, num. adj., ten: (MS. x) 14I. 
tynan, see be-, ontynan. 
tyr, m., glory, honor: as. 272*. 

D 

D = rune [> : G^*. 

9a, adv., then, thereupon : )>a 10^, 23^'i'', 
30^'^, 41^^. See lu 3a. 

<5a, conj., when: l^a ii^'^, 41^ 4S2, 60I". 

Oa gen, adv.,^'t'/: l^a gen io2. 

Sfcgr, adv., there: hJer [i^], 424.28.33^ ^11, 
x&, 24H, 32", 37W, 40", 43*. 47", 56^ 
57I, 61*, 959. 

iSser, conj., tvhere: )'Sr 4^, 1512, 16^, 
21I2, 2^, 27*, 316 b (a haet), 38*, 55I, 
56I, 571-9'", 643.5, 68IT, 73I, 81^, 861, 
881.12, 9324. 

Saes, adv., so : J'a;s 2I1. 

♦Va^s, conj., as: ha;s 42''. 

iffaes O'e, conj., as far as: Jiaes )>e 
84-''°. 

'ffaet, conj. i. that, in noun clauses: 
|>ffit 5*, 6^ 126, 2I18.20, 26", 28", 40I, 
48', 61^, 732^. — 2. that, so that, in 
order that, in result and purpose 
clau.ses: \>xt 2^, 415.21,31, 22", 231^, 
245.i">, 316^ {b Vxr), 34I2, 37!^ 419.16. 

35.91.1(18^ 5,14, 736, 84'*1.*2. 

3a;tte, pron., which : baette [i^*], 9322. 
(Je, indecl. particle, 7ciho, which, that : \>e 

2I5, 3I5, g9, 1314^ 2I*.21.23, 28I6, 41*9.77,78, 

43", 44I6, 5o9, 5 [10, 628, 660, 7o5, 73*, 
88", [be] 4 125.106. 
ffe, conj., since, because: he 48®. 



282 



RIDDLKS UF THE EXETER BOOK 



Seata, conj., though, although : ))eah 14'', 
IQ-^, 4i*''''>^ 492, 8o5, Seh Zi'/V/. 14. 

'ffeah, adv., however : j'eah 7". ^'tY' se 
OT'ah, swii Scah. 

5eah O'c, conj., though, although: J>eah 
).e4r-i^84'".50, 93I7, 9310. 

dearie, adv., abundantly : ^earle 72". 
Sea^v, m., conduct, behavior : gs. J)eawes 

128. 
3'eceaii, Wj, cover: 3 sg. )>ece'S 15I, 

81^; opt. 3 sg. J>ecce 2"; pret. 3 sg. 

I'cahte 46**, 77I; inf. )>eccan lo''; pp. 

beaht 1 1*, 17'^ AVf bitfeccan. 
(Jecen, f., co^'ering{i;arment) : as. J>ecene 

46'-2 ; is. J>ecene 84''". 
ffccgaii, see aO'ecgaii. 
3'egn, m., sej-vant, attendant, man : ns. 

)>egn 382, 5oS 55", 872, t)E[gn] Gs-* ; 

ds. hegne ^'^^. 
t^cg'itiaii, Wa, serve: 3 sg. I'cna'S 22", 

44^; 3 pi. l>egniaiS 51*'. 
(Jeiicaii, see geffciican. 
(Jenden, conj., 7ohile: henden 13'^, 68^'', 

856. 
(TrMiiaii, see «>V'>iiian. 
(Voiiiiaii, see bi'O'eiiiiaii. 
O'eod, f., people: ds. )>eode 73^''; gp. 

I'eoda 42*. See wer'fl'eod. 
?Jeodcyniii{;, m., king 0/ the people, God : 

gs. jieodcyninges 68^. 
(Jeodeu, m., lord, master : gs. j'eodnes 

46^; ds. )>eodne 21-", 59", 62'*. 
3eof, m., thief: ns. )>eof 48* ; gs. J)eofes 

(Teoh, n., thigh : ds. )>eo 45'. 

Scon, 1, grow tip, Jlourish, prosper: 

pret. I sg. I'ieh 72*^. See <»c-, oiiaieoii. 
3eotaii, 2, sound {in oozing out) : inf. 

I'eotan 39''. 
?Jeow, m., ser7>ant: ns. )>eow 4"^. 
ffeovviaii, Wa, serve : 1 sg. j'cowige 

1315. 2 sg. Jieowah 51*"'. 
?Jes, pron., this : nsm. J>es 32^, 33\ 4i'*-' 

43,48,61.76.83^ ^gl, d']'^'^ ; Hsf. K'OS 8^ 

58I; nsn. ))is 36", 4i8i.« 946; gsn. 
Hsses 56^*; asm. Jjisne 40I'', 417.12,15, 



-■^; asf. )'as 401"-", 4i^'"^; asn. ^is 4i'^8 ; 

dpm. J)issum lo'; apn. t>as 41'''. 
'Olcce, adj., thick: apn. )jicce 41*^ 
Tfiegan, 5, partake of, receive : 3 sg. 

J>igeS32i''; inf. j'icgan 911"; ?))ygan 

89". 
[ffin, pron., tliy: npm. )>Ine li''; npf. 

Hne ii''.] 
TVindaii, :i, swell up : inf. j'indan 46^. 
O'iiif;-, n., thing: ns. )'ing 40'-*; ds. Hnge 

68^ ; as. )nng 32-', 46^ ; gp. J'inga 4I''*' ; 

ap. t'ing 41*'; ip. \nng\xm, purposely 

61". 
-(i'iso, see ina?seii(Tise. 
'd'ulian, Wd. i. suffer, endure: 1 sg. 

))olige 93"^ — 2. hold out, stand strain : 

3 sg. ))ola5 17**. — 3. lach: inf. J^olian 

21*. 
'A'onaii, adv., tlience : )'onan 27-', 30^*^, 

'Ooiic, m., thanhs, gratitude : ds. on 

ponce, acceptable, grateful, 5'' ; as. 

on Jjoiic 21-". ^>^ liyge-, or-, searo- 

Oonc. 
iSonclan, Wa, thank : pret. 3 sg. ))oncade 

89-. 
(Joncol, adj., -loise, thoughtful: nsm. 

honcol 3'-. .SVt' scaroSoncol. 
tfonne, adv., then: )>onne 4-"'', 8-'', i^^^, 

216, 29". 
iffonne, conj. i. lohen : l)onne [i^""], 

23,8 ^8.14 ^27,41,61,60,73,74 y5,9 31,8 q6 
172, 243, 31^ 32I, 385, 4119.55,4412, 45*, 

642.8, 71", 73I9, 9i*.9, 93.30. _ 2. than: 

honne 17^, 24^ 4126,28,31^ ^j48,61,64,59,74. 
76,83,92,94,96^ cc9, 671.2.2.3, 8?^, g42.3.5.0,7. 

tJraec, see geffraic. 

tfrffid, m., thread: ns. )irSd 36" {Leid. 

■^Sret). 
(i'raflan, W2, urge, press: 3 sg. l^rafaS 4''. 
'ffrag, f., ti?ne, space of time : as. j'rage 

898; ip. J>ragum, at times 2*, 4''", 55'', 

85*. 
tJra'gan, Wl, run: inf. ))ra2gan 20''. 
'd'ragbysig, adj., periodically employed 

(B-.T.) : nsm. ))ragbysig 5I. 



GLOSSARY 



283 



tTrea, see mod'Orea. 

t(rSat, m. i. hoop, nntltttude : gp. Jneata 
36*^ {Leiii. ■5iea[t]un). — [2. -ioaiit, 
stitjits: as. hreat i^".] 6"^^ C'oredtfreat. 

An'olitiR, adj. laborious: comp. nsm. 
|>reohtigr;i S5'*. 

driiii. Sec- dryiii. 

(Yriiidaii, 3, swe//: ptc. asn. )>rindende 

'Oiriii;;, sc-e ftctTring. 

Orini^aii, ;i, press on, force a loay : 3 sg. 

Jjringeii (MS. bringeS) 12^; inf. J)rin- 

gan 4''i. See a-, ftc-, oQ-, toSrinsan. 
Sriutaii, see a'd'rintan. 
tfrist, adj., holJ, audacious : gp. Jristra 

(MS. kista) -jf^ 
OrTO", see 'd'ry'3. 
«5ro\viaii, Wa, suffer, endure: pret. i 

sg. hrowade 72^''. 
3ry, num., three: nm. )'iy 41''^-, 59^*. 
?Jryin, m., force, po'iuer, might: .^ )'rym 

84''5; is. brimme 4^^, Jrymme 41^^; 

gp. hrymma 4*. 
(Jrymfa'st, ■bA]., glorious, inighty: asm. 

l)r)'mfa;stne 48'*. 
<5ryiiifiil, adj., glorioics, mighty: nsm. 

I'lymful 2*, 46T. 
tfrytJ, f., strength. i. in pi., forces, 

troops: gp. J5ryl>a 65^. — 2. ip. O'ry- 

t^iini, mightily, greatly : l>ry)nmi 87'-, 

jrll'um 38'-. See hikle'ffrycJ. 
(Ju, pron., thou: ns. ]m [i^''], t,2^^, 37^'-' 

1-, 40-", 41^^; ds. or as. j^e 61I*. 
7(uniaii, W->. i. stand up, s'well: inf. 

I'unian 46-. — 2. resound, thunder: 

I sg. l>unie 2*. .Stv oniffuniaii. 
3urfan, PP., need, have reason to: i sg. 

hearf 1622, 21". 
t(urh, prep. w. ace. i. through {place) : 

Jjurh 455.CI; 1 618.21.27.28, isii, 22II, 3220, 

38'*, 4I^^ 72*. — 2. through, duri>ig 
{time): \>\xx)\ 21", 59*. — 3. through, 
by means of, because of {condition and 
agency) : )>urh 6^^, 9^, 3220, 36* {Leid. 
•Serb), 36« (Z^/r/. «erih), 436, 508, 548, 
702, 78-, 84". 



tJurhra'.san, Wl, rush through : i sg. 

)'u ill raise 4-"'. 
(Jurst, m., thirst : ns. j'urst 44^. 
-?f^\a>re, see geJJwtT're. 
JJyncan, \Vl, seem, appear : 3 sg. }>ynce5 

4!'^, )nnce'5 32I* ; pret. 3 sg. Jnihte 

48I, 873. 
'Oyiino, adj., thin: apn. J^ynne 41^8. 
(Syrol, n., hole, aperture: as. jjyrel 1621, 

Oyrcl, adj., perforated : nsn. I'yrel 452, 

9i5. 
Sfyrelwomb, adj., having the stomach 

pierced: asm. )?yrelwombne 81^1. 
?fyiTaii, Wl, dry: pp. hyrred 29^. 
O'yrs, \\\., giant: ds. jiyrse 41*^ 
<5y-''t'*0, f., darkness, gloom : ds. j^ystro 

48^ ; dp. )>ystrum 4''. 
iffywan, Wl, urge, press : 3 sg. by 5 138, 

22^, 63^, 64*' ; inf. {)y\van 4!*. 

U 

V = rune fl (MS. r) : 752. 

ufan, adv. i. from above, dozvn: 4i".55. 
•'^ ii'*, 932'*. — 2. above: ufon 376. 

iifoi", adv., above, higher than : 41^8. 

uhta, m., early moriiing, time just be- 
fore dawn : gp. uhtna 61*^. 

Ulcaims, m., Vulcan : gs. Ulcanus 
(Lat. Vulcani) 4i5';. 

iinbuiiden, adj., unbound: ns. 24!*^. 

uiicer, pron., of us twain : [asm. un- 
cerne i^", asn. ii^] ; npm. uncre 88I* ; 
apm. uncre 61^'. 

undearnun^a, adv., without conceal- 
ment, openly : 432. 

under, prep., under, beneath : A. w. dat. 

42, 10", 23I5, 285, 37.-$, 4183,40.86, 434, 

45^ 55". 72^^ 8430 ; B. w. ace. 32, 46*, 

2310,17, 306, 525, 532, ss*, 633, 73-24, 

74'', 918; C. ease indeterm. 4^^. 
under, adv., under, beneath : 22^1. 
underflo^van, R, flow under : pp. 

underflowen i \-. 
iinderlini<;an, 1, descend beneatfi : i sg. 

underhnlge 67'J ; inf. 4''^. 



284 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



undyrne, adj., not hidden, revealed, 

manifest: nsn. i,'^^- 
unforcu'ff, adj., 7iot ignoble, honorable, 

faithful: nsm. 63^. 
wi\^v-^\\\\o(\.,-A^y, unfulfilled: ds. unge- 

fullodre (MS. ungafullodre) dd^'''. 
[unseliv,a.d]., uHlii'e,di^erent: nsn. i''.] 
[iingt'lice, adv., otherwise, differently : 

iingesib, adj., unrelated: dsm. ungesib- 

bum 10**. 
un;?o(I, n., evil, ill: as. 21^. 
iiiila't, adj., unwearied, quick: nsm. 

54". 
unlytcl, adj., not little, great : nsf. 41^'' ; 

asn. 83". 
unraid, m., evil course, folly : gs. un- 

rzedes 12I0, zS^'^. 
unriSdsrff, m., foolish luay, foolish 

course: ap. unrSdsn>as 12''. 
unriiii, adj., innumerable : apn. unrimu 

iiiiriin, n., countless number: as. 44". 
iiiisccal't, f., monster ? : np. unsceafta 

.SS-«. 
uii80<k'U, adj., uncooked: asf. unsodene 

77«. 
iiiistillo, adv., not still, restlessly : 52^. 
iimvita, m., ignorant person : ns. 50'!. 
up, adv., up, above : ^'^^^, 23^^, 34^^ 

55*, 565, 622, Q,f, upp 1 19. 
upcyiiie, m., up-coming, up-springing: 
^ as. 3i«. 
upirnan, :i, run up, upsoar : ptc. dsm. 

wk. iipirnendan 41''''. 
uploiii;, adj., erect: nsm. SS^'-. 
upp, see up. 
upvvcard, adj., turned itpwards : asm. 

iipweardne 62'"'. 
user, pron., our: nsm. 41^^. 
ut, adv., out, forth : 63", 93^*'. 
utau, adv., without, from without : 4 1 1''' 

^■^•^\ 73i«, 84*'. 
Ute, adv. i. out of doors, in the open: 

432. — 2. comp. uttor, at a distance: 

4i«l 



W 

W =: r/^;/^ >■ : 20*^, 65^, 91''. 

wa, interj., woe! 12*. 

■\vacan, 6, be born, spring : pret. i sg. 

woe 21^1. 
>V{i'can, Wi, soften : pp. wieced 29-^ 
wau'can, Wl, watch, wake: ptc. asf. 

waeccende 41". 
waed, n., water, sea : ap. wado 8^. 
wajd, f., dress, clothes : dp. wiedum 

43* ; ip. wedum 10^. 
wadan, G, go, proceed: i sg. wade 63'' ; 

pret. 3 sg. wod 23^^, 93^^. See be- 

vvadau. 
wtCde, see gewaede. 
Marfan, see beAVfSfan. 
Avafiau, Wa, waver, be amazed: 3 pi. 

wafiaS 84". 
wag, m., -vail: ds. wage 15^2; jg. 

wSge 1 4*. 
^vteg, m., 7uave: ns. 4^0; ds. w5ge iii"^, 

17', 2321, wege 34^, 69'; is. wSge 3**. 
wJT'gffct, n., water-vessel, cloud: ap. 

waigfatu 4-'^. 
wagiaii, Wa, iiitr., shake, totter : 3 pi. 

wagiaiN 4** ; pret. 3 pi. wagedan 55''. 
■WBPgn, m., wagon, wain : ns. 23''-; ds. 

wacgne 22^; as. 23^. 
wa'gsta'iS, n., shore, bank: ds. wag- 

sta'l'e 232. 
Wicl<'ra'l't, m., deadly power: is. wx-1- 

crxfte 91 '1. 
AVfPlcAvealin, m., death-pang: ns. 2**. 
-wald, see on^vald. 
Avaldend, m. \. possessor, ??iastcr : ns. 

2i'», 24«. — 2. Lord (Christ, God): 

ns. 7', 41'^''; gs. waldendes 41'^. 
waldeiido, adj. (\->ic.), powerful : comp. 

nsf. waldendre 41^^. 
Wale, f., (Welshwoman), female slave: 

ns. \f, 53«. 
■vva'lgiin, m., gem of death : as. 21''. 
wa'lgrini, adj., cruel, bloodthirsty: 

nsm. 16*. 
wa'Ihwelp, m., death-7ohelp : gs. wael- 

hwelpes i62'^ 



GLOSSARY 



285 



[wsrlrCow, adj., cruel, bloodthirsty: 

npni. wcclrcowe i''.] 
^valllb, sec ■\voinb. 
%vaiiiaii, see ^vonian. 
■wa'pen, n., weupon: ns. 4'*"; as. 56^^; 

ip. wSpiium 4''2, 2in ^^^ beadu-, 

coiiip-, hildewiepen. 
^VcT'pcn\v^{;a, m., lueaponed 70iirrior, 

armed warrior : ns. 15*. 
\va'pne(loynn, n., male kind, male sex : 

gs. wSpnedcynnes 39^ 
>var, n., seaweed: is. ware 3^. 
>varian, W2, guard, hold, possess : 3 sg. 

waraS 32", 83*, 9326. 
waroO", n., seaweed: ns. 41*^. 
-ovarii, see hel^varu. 
waestin, mn. i. growth, form: as. 

32^. — 2. fruit: ns. 92^; ip. waest- 

mum 84'". 
wiet, adj., wet, moist: nsn. 26II; nsm. 

wk. wSta 36^ {Leid. ueta). ] 
waeta, m., moisture, liquid: as. w5tan 

4** ; is. wjetan 59^^. 
>vStaii, \Vl, wet, moisten : 3 sg. wieteS 

13"^; pret. 3 sg. wStte 27'^. 
waetcr, n., 7vater : ns. 54^, 69-'' ; gs. 

wnetres 23^2 ; ds. woetre 13^'', 27^; is. 

\\\xtre III, g-j2.3 
wa'5, f., wandering, journey: as. wabe 

2II. 
■«'{¥"ffan, Wl, hunt: 3 sg. wEJ^eS 35^. 
wa>van, R, blow, be moved by the wind: 

3 sg. wSwe"5 41*1. 
wSa, m., woe, misery: gs. wean 72^^. 
\vpalcaii, see ••cwealoaii. 
-«t'al<l, sec K^'^vcaUl. 
weaklaii, R, liave power over, control, 

rule: 3 sg. wealde?) 41^, wealdeh 

41^2, [wealdeh] 41-; pret. 3 sg. weold 

r-.C 

5j • 
AVcalh, m., ( Wclsliman), slave, servant : 

ap. Wcalas 13''. 
AVcalh, adj., (Welsh), foreign: apm. 

Walas 72". 
wcall, ni. I . natural 'wall, hill, cliff: 

gs. wealles 30^ ; ds. wealle 4"-^" ; ap. 



weallas 35''. — 2. wall (of building) : 

n.'s. 84'''*; np. weallas 4''. ^V^ bord-, 

sjeweall. 
weard, m., guardian, lord: ns. 22^, 

83-; gs. weardes 14'. 
-«'eard, see fKftan-, a^fter-, for??-, 

hindc-, iiinan-, upwcard. 
■\voardian, Wa, hold, occupy, inhabit : 

inf. 8S-'\ 
vvcarin,adj., warrn : nsn. wk. wearm[e] 

5'- 
■\vearp, m., 7varp : as. 36^ (Leid. uarp). 
■\veaxaii, R, 7vax, grow, increase: 3 sg. 

weaxeS 412*'; 3 pi. weaxa'S i^i^^'^; 

pret. I sg. weox 88^ ; inf. 551", (MS. 

weax) 46I ; ptc. nsm. weaxende 54^. 

See a-, ge>veaxan. 
web, see god>veb. 
weecan, see awecean. 
wecgan, Wi, 7nove, shake : 3 sg. wege'S 

13^, 22^, 81"; pret. 3 pi. wegedon 

73^- 
wed, see wted. 
weder, n. [i. weather: ns. i^".] — 

2. air: ds. wedre 31 2. 
wefan, see a-, gewefan. 
wefl, f., 7voof, thread: np. wefle 36^ 

(Leid. ueflae). 
■\veg, m., way: ds. wege 37^, 70^; as. 

1 6-1, 40", 54*, 63'', 69I ; ap. wegas 4^^, 

526. See flod-, forS-, hwyrft-, on-, 

stiSweg. 
weg, see waig. 
w^egan, 5, bear, carry: i sg. wege 21*'; 

3 sg. wigeS 33", 5i3, 716, rf^; 3 pi. 

wegaS 1 5" ; pret. 3 pi. wagun 28' ; 

pp. wegen 22^. 
■\vel, adv., -well, very : lo'*, ^v\ i)2^'}. 
■\vola, m., -wealth : ? vvelan CSif*. See 

fodorwela. 
wella, m., fotmtain : ap. wellan 39-'. 
\ven, f., hope, expectation, lotigitig: ns. 

4'^; [np. wena i^^; ip. wenum i^]. 
Aveiian, Wl. i. hope, expect: i sg. wene 

6''; inf. 21^''. — 2. ween, suppose: 3 

pi. wenal' 3I ; pret. i sg. wende 61'. 



286 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



■\vcn<lan, Wl. i. ///;•//, turn round, 

turn o7'er : pret. 3 sg. wende 60^ ; pp. 

wended 60I*. — 2. •wend, i:;o, proceed: 

3 sg. vvendeS 73-8. See gevvendaii, 

oiiwoiidaii. 
woo, see AvOh. 
weorc, n. i. work, labor : gs. weorces 

43*' 55^"; ''IS- [w]eorc 93-2; np. 271-*. 

— 2. pain, travail, grief: a.s. 72i''. 

See bca<lii\veorf, hondweorc. 
Avcorpan, :j, t/iro-iO: i sg. weorpe (M.S. 

weorpere) 28' ; 3 pi. weorpaii 3". See 

a-, be^vooI■pan. 
"woorO', adj., precious, valued, dear: 

iism. 2SI ; comp. nsm. weorSra SS'*. 
■\veor?Jan, :t. \. be, become : i sg. weor)>e 

'?■*; 3 sg. -weorhe^ 16", ii"^ ; 3 pi. 

weortSaS 6^^, weorJ>aJ> 3I* ; pret. 3 sg. 

wears I0^ 401**, 54^ 68I-, 6r/; pret. 

3 pi. wurdoii 73'' ; pret. opt. 3 sg. 

wurde 84'^o ; inf. weor)>an 4''i, 51I0. — 

2. happen, come to pass: pret. 3 sg. 

wear'5 69'^ See for-, geweor'flan. 
■weor'd'ian, Wa, praise, celebrate : 3 sg. 

weorhaS 211". See j^eweor'Sian. 
wopan, R, iceep: pres. 3 sg. wepe'5 

■jv'; pret. i sg. weop 93^^. 
-\vor, m., W(?// : ns. 24I*, 47^ ; gs. weres 

45I; np. weras [i'"'], \^^-^^, 23^'2i, 31'', 

84'»i, 861 ; gp. wera 2^, 4^, 27l^ 301*, 

35!, 48«, 83S, 88'^6. dp. werum 28I, 

-,o4.i4 -,-.11 .->n . -,i«; 
3- ' jj ' 4- ' 4j • 

werj>an, .r^^ aworsaii. 
■\verig, adj., iveary, exhausted : nsm. 6^, 
55!'^. See ra<l-, sla'pwerig. 

Avcriiiod, m., ivorm'tvovd: ns. 41*'''. 
"werO'eod, f., people, nation, pi. men : 

ap. werJ)eode 84'*''. 
•wesan, anv., be, exist : i sg. eom 6^, 16-, 

iSi, 19I, 2ii.io, 242, 25l'3, 26I, 281'6, 

31 1 721, 4ll6,18.2:{,2G,28,30,88.41.4fl.48.50,54, 
[56],58,60,74,76,78.80,g7,!t0,92,92,94,n5.fl9,105^ g-jl^ 

642, 67I, 7ii'3, 738, 79I, Sol, 81I, 858, 
88^0, 92s 95I, beom 4'S 8^, 17*, 24*, 
beo 24''; 3 sg. is [ii.3.4,5,8j^ 2I, 12I, 1 61, 
i8^ 2i3, 22I, 24I, 26*, 2727, 29I-, 308, 



,217.2^! -!-?l, -749,10,11^ aq2-1;25^ -i1,3,70,72 

42-'", 43!^ 45'-'5i, 59I5, 61 1^ 7oi-2, 73"-2, 
Sosw, 82I, 84i.*.6, 8821, 91I, [is] 402*, 
(w. neg.) nis 4168.80, 85I, SS*', biS 
28^ 3II, 424.28,33,39^ 149^ i^G^ 26", 29^ 

45'', 595, 63*, 64I3, 8423,26,30,3G^ 85^ 
bi)> 3», 5«, 16IO, 173, 18*, 2l24, 229.1I'', 

29^ 35^'^ 38^ 4o9, 848.20.24,27.43. , pi. 
beo)j 64^; 3 pi. beo^ 17^, 271^*, 36^ 
{Leid. bla'S), 41 n, sind 5S2, 59H, 67^, 
sindon [i*'], 43I', 5610, sindan 66" ; opt. 

3 sg. .sy 29W, 36", 40l.", 4 1 24.27,00, 429, 

681", So^ 84^^^ (MS. ry) 946, sie 3224, 
33I4; pret. I sg. wa:s 15I, 19*, 4i«, 57I, 
61 1,661 2, 712, 721.9,741 ; pret. 3 .sg. wafs 

[,10,12,12.18], I02, III, 145, 208, 236, 324.6, 
339, 343, 372,9,10, 38I, 474, 48.^ 52^ 

535, 542.11, 337, 369, 576.9, 60", 6l«, 
624, 64i'', 652, 692, 83I, 84I8 ?, 885.14, 
89-5?, 92I; pret. I pi. wSron 88i''.29; 
pret. 3 pi. wjeron 10'', ii^, 14I, 34*, 
47^ 53'''' 57*. wSran 522; pret. opt. 
3 sg, w5re 37*, 40!^ 72!'^; inf. 43**, 
44I". 

Avcst, adv., zuest, westward : 30I0. 

wlc, n,, 7'illage, dwelling, abode: dp. 
wicum 9", 5o4, 7328 ; ap. 82, 16*. 

■\vicg, n,, horse : ns. wycg 1 5^^ ; ds. wicge 
So"; as. Wl[cg] 65I ; is. wicge 1514; 
np. 2321 ; ap, 239; ip. wicgum 232. 

■wicstcd*', m., dwelling-place : np. 49. 

wid, adj., wide: asf. wide 19*^. 

wide, adv., widely, far: 2II, 4'''""i, 8", 
III", 21I6, 27I8, 28I, 36" {Leid. uldx-), 
40", 4i»^ 59^ 677, 7322,8310,9327, 953. 
comp. widdor loio, 61I'', 721°. 

WTdeferh, ■Ad.\ ., forever : 408.21. 

widgiel, adj. i. wide-spreading, spa- 
cious: comp. nsm. wTdgielra 4i'^i, 
wldgelra 418'^ — 2. wandering, rov- 
ing: dsf. wTdgalum 21''. 

widlast, adj., wide-wandering: nsm. 
20"; [ipf. wTdlastum i"]. 

wido, see wudu. 

^vTf, n. I. woman: ns. 26II, ^\^; gs. 
wifes 37I2, 92-'^; ds. wife 21 "2; as. wiif 



GLOSSARY 



287 



37*! "P- 31"; gP- '^^■'f^ (MS. wife'S) 

84^'-. — 2. 'ii'i/e : dp. wifum 47^. 
Avifcl, ni., weez'il: as. 41'''. 
w\'^, n.,Jig/it, battle: as. 6'', 16^''. 
wlga, m., warrior: ns. 16*, 51I, 52", 

73'^ ; gs. -.vigan 9320. Scc- fok- sufl-, 

•WH'poinviga. 
■wi'ij'ar, m., s/'cur : as. wegar or wigar 

( p- n X r P:) 20^. 

■\viht, f. I. 7vight, creature: ns. 19^, 
21I, 24-, 25I, 26I, 291-', 30", 32-'i»--', 
33'-". 34^ 3'A 40I, 41", 42^ 6819, 70I, 
82I, S4I, 861, 89I ; gs. wihte 30", 37" ; 
ds. wihte yj'^; as. 30I, 35I, 37I, 39I, 
57-', 592, 68-, 69I, 87I, wihte 38I, 69I, 
wiht[e] 40-''''; np. wihte 431" ; gp. wihta 
29*, 401*, 43^, 84'1 ; ap. wihte 5SI, 
wyhte 43I, wuhte 52I. — 2. aui^ht, 
attyt/iiitg: as. 5II. — 3. with neg. 
naught, not a 70/iit : ne wiht 321'*, 
591'^, 661 . ]ig -vvihte 48''-*^. See 110- 
^viht, owilit. 

^viIclllna, ni., loclconie thing: gp. wil- 
cumeiui 9II. 

■wilgchlf'A'a, m., pleasant companion : 
ap. wilgehlehan 15^. 

Avilla, m. I. zc'ill, wish, desire: as. wil- 
lan 21^3, 3ol^ 556, 64", 73"; ip. willum 
87', 91 11, 93"-. — 2. pleasant thing, de- 
sirable thing: ns. 79I ; gp. wilna 29!'^ 

\villan, anv., ivill, wish, desire : i sg. 
(ne) wilie 50I'' ; 3 sg. wile 36" {Leid. 
uil), 40^ 441", 45^ 77^, 9I^ wille 44", 
6oi^; 3 pi. willa^' [i-'"], 17", 271*; pret. 
3 sg. walde 30'*, wolde 87" ; w. neg. 
I sg. nelle 24!^ 3 sg. nele i6i*'. 

%vilnian, W2, desire: 3 pi. wilnia^" 50". 

■\viii, n., wiite: ds. wine 15I'', 431", 47I. 

■\vincel, m., corner : ds. wincle 46I, 
(MS. wine sele) 55'-. 

>vinfl, m., wind: ns. ii"\ 41'"'^; ds. 
winde 17I, 31I, 41*1; is. winde 151'*. 

■\\'inclan, 3, roll, tn'ist: pp. wunden 29-'', 
asn. wunden 56^ npm. wundne 411**; 
npf. wundene 36" (Leid. uundnae). 
See be-, f»('-, yiiil)\\ iiidan. 



-Avinn, see ge\\'inn. 

\viniiaii, a, stri-'c, struggle, labor : i sg. 

winne 4"', 7" ; 3 sg. winne^ 4!^ ; inf. 

17I; ptc. nsm. winnende 3^, 4'**', 52'', 

asf. winnende 57-. 
?-\vintor, m., winter: gp. [wintra] 83I. 
^vlntel•(•cal(I, adj., wintry-cold : nsm. 5^. 
■\vir, m., wire, pi. ornaments: ns. 21*; 

is. wire 271'*, 7i5; ip. wirum 18^, 21''-, 

41^'. 
^vil•bog"a, m., tiuisted wire: ip. wirbo- 

gum 15''. 
AVIS, adj., 'iC'ise, learned: nsm. jji'' ; 

dsm. wisum 322'*. See medwls. 
Avisdom, m., zoisdom : as. 95^; is. wTs- 

dome 68^. 
Avlse, f. I. nature, matiner : ns. 371*, 

SqI'^; as. wisan 12*^, 21II, 66*, 70I, 73''' 

2^, 84^; ip. wIsum 32^, 332. — 2. mel- 
ody : as. wisan 9''. See sceawend- 

W'Tso. 
AvTsftest, adj., wise, learned: nsm. 

36i'i ; dsm. wisfaestum 291^ ; gpm. 

wisfrestra 6813 ; dpni. wisfaestum 42^. 
•«'isian, Wa, guide, direct : 3 sg. wisa'5 

4", 2 1 5, 222. 

Avist, f., susteitaitce, food: as. 33II, 
wiste 44'; ip. wistum 84^1. Av rnid- 
Avist. 

-Avit, see geAA'it. 

Avita, see sti-, vuiAA'ita. 

AA'itaii, PP. know: I sg, wat 12^, 36'^ 
{Leid. miat), 44I, 50I, 59', SS'-^'' ; 2 sg. 
wast 37I2; 3 pi. 44"; opt. I sg. wite 
5II ; opt. 3 pi. 371-', witen 40'* ; pret. 
3 sg. wisse 552. See be-, geAAitan. 

Avitan, see gcAvItan. 

AA-ite, n., pain, torment: as. 24^. See 

dolAAltO. 

Avitian, \V2, decree, appoint: pp. nsm. 

witod i6^'ii, 85", nsn. witod 21-^, ap. 

witode 44". 
AA'i'ff, prep., against, with : A. w. dat. 

420.42^ ,72.2^ 28 w 334, 40I2, 881", 9 1 5, 

wih 4'*i, 17I1, 2 1 2", 4oi2; B_ ^v ace. 

431^ wil' 179, 61 1*. 



288 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



witJ, adv., in reply : 291*^. 
wlanc, see wlonc. 

wlitan, 1 , look, gaze : 3 sg. wlite'S 
9332. 

wlite, m., aspect, appearance : ns. 37'^^ 
8424; as. 84T; 71IO ?. 

wlltetorlit, adj., brilliant, splendid: 
gpf. wlitetorhtra 71". 

wlltig, adj., beautiful, comely: ns(.''). 
84I''; nsm. 15I-; nsn. \?>^^ ; apf. wk. 
wlitigan 35^. 

wlltigian, Wa, beautify : 3 sg. wlitiga'S 
84*^. See gCAvlitigian. 

wlonc, Tad]., proud, high-spirited : nsm. 
15^; nsf. wlanc 43'*; dsn. wloncum 
80^; asm. wloncne 51^''; npm. wlonce 
31^; gpm. wloncra 60'*; dpm. wlon- 
cum iSi^, S4-''; apm. wlonce 15I''. 
See fela-, liyge-, modwlonc. 

woh, adj. I. curved, bent, twisted : nsm. 
22*, 70^; ipm. woum 15^. — 2. per- 
verse, wrong, evil: asf. won 12* ; npm. 
weo ?? 57''; npn. 40^*. 

wolrpn, mn., cloud : gp. wolcna 8^'. 
See hool'oinvolcii. 

woh'oiilarii, f., drifting of clouds: as. 
wolceiifare 4'^^. 

woleeiigeliiiast, f., collision of clouds : 
is. wolcengehnaste 4*''^. 

■woin, mn., evil word : as. 21*'. 

vvoiii, adj., evil, foul: apn. 4i'". 

womb, f., womb, belly : ns. 38^ ; ds. 
wombe 4'"', 37-', 88^3; as. wombe 19", 
86-'', 87I, 89'-, 9328^ wambe 63^; is. 
woml)[e] 93*'. See (Tyrclwoiiib. 

woiiiblionl, 11., ivomb-hoard, contents of 
belly: ns. iSW. 

won, adj., dark, swarthy: nsm. 41^'^'', 
wk. wonna 50*; nsf. wonn 4^'' ; nsn. 
wonn SS-'-'; apn. 4'"; ipf. wonnum 

54^ .^'^"•• 

w^onfah, adj., dark-colored : nsf. 53'"'. 

^vonfcax, adj., dark-haired \ nsf. 13^. 

wong, m., field, plain : ns. 36^ {Leid. 
uong) ; ns. 4188.51, yfi. jg wonge 22^, 
32^*, 592, 73I ; as. 65I ; np. wongas 



67^ ; ap. wongas 1 32, 831*^. See sail-, 
Stan-, sta<!Fol\vong. 

wonian, Wa. 1. briiig to nought, frus- 
trate: I sg. wonie 21^^ — ^ ivane, 
decrease: pret. 3 sg. wanode (MS. 
wancode) 87". 

wonsceaft, f., misforttuie, misery : as. 
wonnsceaft 9320, [wonjsceaft 81^2 

■word, n. i. word, speech: as. 19', 21", 
60^, 682, (^^9 . gp worda t^^^ ; ap. 
48I, 84M .? ; ip. wordum 5", z\^, 32I9, 
3614, 4o2«.29, 4 1 73, 486, 493, 56I6, 61 1«, 
847.54 — 2. bidding, command: is. 
worde 41". 

wordcwide, m., speech, words : ap. 
wordcwidas 61". 

w^ordlean, n., a retvard for words : gp. 
wordleana 80'. 

woruld, f., world: as. worulde 8437, 
world 412. See \vundorworuld. 

\voriildb«'arn, n., child of earth, living 
creature: gj). worldbearna 8432. 

woruldlif, n., world's life: ds. world- 
life (I-at. per saecula) 4I87.- 

\vorul<Istr<'ngii, f., physical strength : 
gp. woruldstrenga 272. 

>vo3', f., voice, song: is. wo^e 9^1. See 
lieafodwo'i'^. 

woSbora, m., j///i_'-tv, speaker: ds. wo5- 
boran 322^, 80''. 

WoSgicfii, f., i^ift of song : ns. 32I**. 

WTsacvn, see Avrerca. 

wrtT'd, f., band, bond: as. wriede 4^3 

wrtS.snan, Wl, 7'aiy, change the tone: 
I sg. wrSsne 25^. 

wr^st, adj., delicate, elegant: comp. 
nsf. wrjestre 412*'. 

wrseste, adv., delicately: 41-'". 

AvrJT't, f., ornament: ip. wra3ttum 322, 

33-- 
■wra'tlic, adj. i. wondrous, curious: 
nsf. 242, 70^ wrietllcu 34I, 482; nsn. 
32^**, 402-', 45I ; asf. wrjetllce 682; ^sn. 
563 ; apf. wrjetlTce 43^ 52^. — 2. artis- 
tic, elegant: gsn. wk. wrStlican Go^^' ; 
npn. 2j^^. 



CLOSSARY 



289 



WTa'tlioo, adv., -wotidroits/v, iiirioiisly : 

37-, 4 I <;.'*■''. i".2.i"-», 69-, 70^ 
>vrii<V, adj. i. hostile, cruel, malii:[iiaiit: 

gpm. \vrat>ra ^,\^'^ \ gpn. wrahra 71'''; 

dpm. \vraj>um i 5'". — 2. bitter : conip. 

nsf. wral're 41*''^. 
■wnTfl'srra'f, n., /'ci/l ,/<■// : ap. wraN- 

scrafu 41'". 
AVrct'aii, .1. I. ilrii-e, press on: 3 sg. 

\VIice^" 4''; pret. opt. 3 sg. wrSce 2-; 

pp. nsn. wrecen 22'!. — 2. aven^s;e: 

pret. opt. 3 -Sg. wrSce 21"*; inf. 93'". 

See Swrecaii. 
Avrcooa, m., exile: ns. wraecca (MS. 

wrasce) 2'* ; gs. wieccan 40", (MS. 

wrecan) 2'^ ; as. wreccan 30!". 
wrej^aii, Wi, rouse, excite: i sg. wrcge 

4'' ; inf. 4^". See j»e\vroj;jaii. 
^vroIK', m., niotluhition of the 7>oice : ip. 

wiencum 9'-. 
^vl•eon, I, 2, coTcr: imp. 2 sg. wreoii 

S4""' ; pret. 3 sg. wiaii 10^, 27", 

wreah 2^- ; pret. 3 pi. wrugon 3''', 

77-, 88^''. See be^vreoii. 
^v^e'ff^an, see be>vre7Siaii. 
wre'ffstu'tfu, f., prop, support : ip. wreN- 

stul'um 41-. 
Avri;»ian, W2, strive, push one's 700 y: 

3 sg. wiiga|) 22^^. 
writ, see {jcwrit. 
■\vri<Va, m., riut^: as. wri|>an 60^. See 

lialswriSa. 
^VI•l^yaIl, 1, I'ind : 3 sg. wrlS 51''; pp. 

wri|>en 54". 
^v^lxIan, Wl, chani;e (r-o/Vf), .r/;/;-- : i 

sg. wri,\le 9-; inf. 611". 
? wrohtsta'f, ni., injury: dp. wroht- 

stafuni (MS. wroht stap) T^^. 
^v^otan, R, root up (of s7C'ine) : \tt.c. 

nsm. wrntende 41''^''. 
Avudu, m. I. -.oooJ {material), thing 

of'ivood: ns. i,\^^, 57^; ds. wuda i p'', 

8822; as. wido 572 ; is. wuda 932''.— 

2. tree: ns. 54'', 561^. — 3. wood, for- 
est: [ds. wuda i'"] ; as. 2^, 81'. — 4. 

ship : ns. 4-'^. 



AviKlubr'ani, m., forest tree: gp. wudu- 

heama .SiS'". 
w\n\uirl^ow,n., forest tree: as. 56^. 
Aviildor, n., ,i,'lory : ns. 84''2 ; gs. wuldres 

67" ; is. wuklre 31-. 
wuldorcyiiinf"-, m., Kiris^of glory {God) : 

gs. wuldon yninges 4021. 
■\viil<lorfi«'sf('ald, npl., glorious posses- 
sions : n]i. 27"'. 
'vviiIdor<;iiiiiii, m., glorious t^etn : ns. 

842'\ 
■\vuldoriiyttuiin;, i., glorious use: ip. 

wuldornyttingum 84-"*. 
■wulf, m., wolf: [ns. i"*'" ; vs. i>=^-i'']; 

gs. wulfes [i«], 93'--''. 
■wiilfhr'afodtreo, n., galUnvs, cross ? : 

ns. 56i--i. 
Aviill, f., wool: gs. wuUe 36-' {f.eid. 

uullan). 
wii lid, f., 7i '('//■//</: ds. vvunde 93"; np. 

wunda 60^'' ; ap. wunda 54", wunde 

61-^. 93i«. 
wwwiX, 2i.i}f)., wounded : nsm. 6' ; nsn. 912. 
wuiidenlocc, adj., curly-haired ; 7oith 

braided locks {y>.-T .) : nsn. 26^^ 
Aviindiaii, \V2, 7c>ound: opt. 3 pi. wun- 

digen 84''^ 
■\viindor, n., 7oonder, marvel: ns. 69^; 

gs. wundres 61^'' ; as. 482 ; gp. wundra 

22**, S3I'', 84^; ip. vvundrum, 7vonder- 
fully. 36I (so Leid), 372, 51I, 682, (^^1^ 

S4i2i.4'i. ?wundor6S«. 
■wiindorora'ft, m., 7iwndrous skill: is. 

wundorcraefte 41^5 
AviiiidorlTc, adj., 7oonderful : nsf. wun- 

dt-rlicu 19!, 21^ 25^, 26^, wundorlTcu 

30"; nsn. 882'-; asf. wundorlice 30'. 

87I ; comp. asm. wundorlicran 32^^. 
^VIlIl<loI•^vol•lIld, f., 7oonderful 7oorld: 

as. 40I". 
\viiiiiaii, Wa. I. d7c<ell, abide: i sg. 

wunige 85'' ; pret. I sg. wunode 73^. 
— 2. remain, continue: 3 sg. wunaiN 

32^''': inf. 41**. .Scv }»ewiiiiiaii. 
Avyltan, Wl, turn, revolve: pp. wylted 
60I8. 



290 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



wyn, £.,/;'!', delight: ns. [i^-], 27'; ds. 

Wynne 54-; ip. wynnum 41'"'. See 

modwyn. 
wynllc, adj., delightful, pleasing: nsf. 

41* ; wynllcu 32!^. 
■wynnstatfol, m.., joyous foundation : ns. 

wynnstal'ol 92-'. 
wynsuiii, adj., 7vinsonie: nsm. S4-'' ; 

? wynsum 84^^. 
wyrcan, VVl, loork, make : 3 sg. wyrceN 

64'', {begets) 38^ ; pret. 3 sg. worhte 

416,89, 55C; inf. 16I8, 73I2. See be-, 

J?e^vyr('all. 
wyrd, f. I. Fate: gp. wyrda 36" {I.eid. 

uyrdi), 40-''. — 2. event: ns. 4S-. 
wyrdan, Wl, Inirt, injure : 3 pi. wyrda)' 

S8«3. 
wyrsan, see aAvyrgan. 
■\vyriii, m., Ti'tvv//. i. booknioth : ns.4S''. 

— 2. insect : ns. 41"''. — 3. silkworm : 

np. wyrmas 368 {I.eid. uyrmas). See 

hond-, regnwyrin. 
wyrinan,Wl,7iw;-w : 3sg. wyrme'S 131". 

wyrnaii, Wl, refuse: 3 sg. wyrneS 

2ill.29_ 

•wyrs, adv., worse : 1 4^. 

wyrslTc, adj., mean, 7'ile : comp. nsf. 

wyrslTcre 41''*. 
wyrt, f . 1 . 7aort, plant, herb : gp. 

wyrta yr^ ; dp. wyrtum 6^-; ap. 

wyrte 35''. — 2. root: ip. wyrtum 35". 



yean, Wi, increase: 3 pi. ycat? 27-*; 
■ inf. 3i«. 
yce, see fenyoe. 

yfle, adv., evilly, ill: 4182, 448, 838. 

yldo, f., ('/(/ age : ns. 44''. 

yidra, see eald. 

yinb, prep. w. ace. i. about, around 
(local): 2I'', 41-*. — 2. about, concern- 
ing: 24", 34S, 40*, 44I", 85^. 

yiiibclyppan, Wi, embrace: i sg. ymb- 
clyppe 41'''^; inf. 4i"''. 

ymbhwyrft, n., earth, loorld {orbis 
terrarum): ns. 41''-; as. 4 1 "■!''. 

ynibwindan, 3, embrace: i sg. ymb- 
winde i,\'^^. 

yst, f., storm, tempest: ds. yst[e] 

yS, f., Tiv/Tr : ns. 61"; as. y^e 52^ 
74*; np. yha 3!^ 77--^; gp. yba f, 483, 
23" ; ap. yl-a ^^'-^^ ; ip. ylmm 1 1*, 17^ 
78". 

ytfaii, Wl, destroy, lay waste: inf. yhan 
71'. 

y^vaIl, Wl, slnrnj, reveal: opt. 3 sg. ywe 
561'''. See geyAvan. 

Z 

zefFerus, m., Zephyrus, west witid: ns. 

4i«8. 



INDEX OF SOLUTIONS 



niack type, both in names and in nunilx-rs. indicates solutions accepted by the editor. 
All solutions are discussed in the Notes. 



Ale 29 

-Vlphabet 14 



17 



Anchor 3, 11, » . 
A.xle and Wheels 72 

Badger 16 
Bagpipe 32 
Ballista 18 
Barleycorn 29 
Barnacle Goose 11 
Bat 37''->-' 
Battering-ram 54 
Beaker 04 
Beam 31 (. f. 56) 
Bee 35, 46 
Beech 92 
Beer 29 
Bell 5, 9 
Bellows 38, 87 
Bible 68 

Bird and AN'ind 30 
Boat 37 

Body and Soul 44 
Book 27 
Bookcase 50 
Bookmoth 48 
Borer 63 
Bow 24 
Bridge 23 
Broom 53 
Bubble 1 1 
Buckets ^3 
Bullock 39 
Butterfly (OcoDn 14 

Cage 50 

Cask and Cooper S7 



Chalice 60 
Chicken.s 14 
Chopping-block 6 
Churn 55 

Citadel ('Burg') 18 
Cloud and Wind 30 
Cock and Hen 43 
Cocoon 1 4 
Communion Cup 60 
Cooper and Ca.sk 87 
Crab 78 
Creation (' Creatura ') 41, 

67,94(?) 
Cross 315-fl, 56 
Crowd 32 
Cuckoo 10 
Cupping-gla.ss 71 
Cuttle-fish 74 
Cynewulf i, 90 

Dagger 71 
Dagger Sheath 45 
Day 40 
Dog 51. 75 
Dough 46 
Dragon 52 
Draw-well 59 

Earth 42 
Earthquake 411''' 
Earthquake, Submarine, 3 

Falcon 21, 80 (cf. 20, 

65) 
Fiddle 32 
Field of grain in ear 

(' Ahrenfeld ') 31 
201 



Fingers and Gloves 14 
Fingers and Pen 52 
Fire 42, 51 
Fire-rod 63 
Fish 78 

Fish and River 85 
Flail 5, 53, 57 
Flute 611-10, 64 
Foot and Shoe 63 

Gallows 56 

Cimlet 63 

Gloves and Fingers 14 

Gnats 58 

Gold 12, S3 

Hailstones 58 

Harp 29, 56 

Hawk 21, 80 (cf. 20, 65) 

Hedgehog 16 

Helmet 71,81 

Hemp 26 

Hen and Cock 43 

Hip (' Rosenbutz ') 26 

Horn 15, 80, 88, 93 

Horse (cf. 20, 65) 

Horse and Wagon 52 

Hurricane 4 

Ice 69 
Iceberg 34 
Inkhorn 88, 93 

Jay 9. 25 

Key 45, 91 
Kirtle 62 



292 



RIDDLES OF THE EXETER BOOK 



Lamb of God 90 

Lance 73 

Leather 13 

Leather Bottle 19, 89 

Leek, 26, 66 

Letter-beam 61 

Letters of alphabet 14 

Lock and Key 45, 91 

Loom 57 

Lot, his two daughters, 

and their two sons 47 
Lupus 90 

Mail-coat 36, Leiden 
Mail-shirt 62 

Man on horseback with 
spear and hawk 20, 65 
Martins 58 
Mead 28 

Measuring-worm 14 
Millstone 5, 33 
Mime 25 
Month 23 
Moon 40, 95 
Moon and Sun 30 
Mustard 26 

Night 12 
Nightingale 9 

(Obscene riddles 26, 43, 
45. 46, 55, 62. 63, 64) 

Ocean-furrow 1 1 
One-eyed Garlic-seller 86 
Onion 26, 66 
Ore 83 

Organ 86 

Oven 18, 50, 55 

Owl that eats snakes 

(Aspule-ilf) 65 
0x72 

Oxen, Yoke of, 53 
Oxhide 13 
Oyster 76, 77, 78 



Paten 49 

Peacock with rings on 

tail 65 
Pen 611017 
Pen and Fingers 52 
Pipe 9, 61 '10, 70 
Plow 22 
Poker 63 
Porcupine 16 
Pyx 49 

Rain-drops 58 
Rainwater 31 
Rake 35 
Reed 61 

Reed-pen 61io-i7 
Reed-pipe 6II-10 
Kiddle i, 95 
River and Fish 85 
Rune-staff 61 
Rye-straw (' Roggen- 
halm ') 70 

Scabbard 56 

Scop 95 

Shawm 70 

Sheath 45, 56 

Shield 6. 56 

Ship 33, 37, Si 

Shirt 62 

Shoe and Foot 63 

Sickle 91 

Siren 74 

Soul and Body 44 

Sow with five farrow 

37 
Spear 54. 73, 80 (cf. 20, 

65) 
Stag-horn 88, 93 
Starlings 58 
Storm 2^4 

Storm at sea 3, 4i"-'6 
Storm on land and sea 2 
Storm-clouds 5S 



Submarine earthquake 3 

Sun 7, 74 

Sun and Moon 30 

Swallow and Sparrow 30 

Swallows 58 

Swan 8 

Sword 21, 71, So 

Sword-rack 56 

Ten Chickens 14 
Thunderstorm 4-''-*''' 
Time 40 
Tree 31i-*(cf. 54, 56, 73, 

92) 
Turning-lathe 57 
Two Buckets 53 

Visor 81 

Wagon T,i„ 38, 72 
Wagon and Horse 52 
Wake (of ship) 1 1 
Wandering Singer 95 
Water 31, 42. 74, 84 
W^ater-lily 1 1 
Weathercock 81 
Web and Loom 57 
Well with well-sweep 

59 
Wheels and Axle 72 
Whip 28 
Wine 12 
Wine-cask 29 
Winter 69 
Wisdom 42 
Wolf in two hop-rows 

90 
Wolves and Lamb 

(Apocalyptic) 90 
Woodpecker 25 
Wood-pigeon 9 
Word of God 95 

Young Bull 39 



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